t 



u 





I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 






jj UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Q 



WISCONSIN 



ITS 



GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY, 



Qistorjj, Oology, cuttr ilTiucralogy : 



TOGETHER WITH 



BRIEF SKETCHES OF ITS ANTIQJJITIES, NATl 
HISTORY, SOIL, PRODUCTIONS, POPULATION, 
AND GOVERNMENT. 



BY I. a/'LAPHAI, 



SECOND EDITION, GREATLY IMPROVED. 




MILWAUKEE: 

I. A. HOPKINS, 146 U. S. BLOCK. 

NEW YORK:— PAINE & BURGESS, AND SAXTON & MILES 
ST. LOUIS :— NAFIS, CORNISH & CO. 



1S46, 



,U3 



Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by 

INCREASE A. LAPHAM, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court, in the Third Judicial District of the 
Territory of Wisconsin. 



S. W. BENEDICT, 
Ster. & Print., 16 Spruce St., New York. 



PREFACE 



A new edition of this work being called for, the Author has 
revised it, adding such important or useful information as he has 
been able to collect since the publication of the first edition. 

The work was originally given to the public with the hope, not 
only of furnishing the thousands of new comers, who are annu- 
ally flocking to our Territory, and to others, in a cheap and con- 
venient form, a large amount of useful information, which it 
would be difficult for them to obtain from any other source ; but 
also te preserve for the future historian many interesting facts 
which might otherwise soon be forgotten and lost. The Author 
is fully sensible of its defects and omissions, but hopes that due 
allowance will be made, when it is considered that this is the 
first attempt of the kind relative to a country more than twice 
the extent of the great state of New York, which has been made 
public. Many parts of the country are but thinly peopled, and 
little communication exists between them and other settlements, 
so that it is difficult to ascertain what are their extent, population, 
improvements, &c. New settlements are commenced almost 
every day, and soon grow into important places without any 
notice being taken of them by the public. Towns and vil- 
lages spring up so rapidly that one has to " keep a sharp look 
out" to be informed even of their names and location, to say 
nothing about their population, trade, buildings, &c. The build- 
ing of a town has in a great degree ceased to be a matter of 
much interest — as much so as an earthquake formerly did in 
some parts of Missouri, where a traveller having stopped at a 
log cabin was much concerned to hear the dishes begin to rattle 
on the shelves, and make a disagreeable kind of music, at which 
the chairs and other furniture set up an unnatural and very 
alarming kind of dance ! The good lady of the house attempted 



IV PREFACE, 

to allay his fears by saying, " Don't be afraid, Sir ! — it's only an 
'arthquake ! !" Hence it may be expected that some towns are 
not as fully noticed in this work as their importance would seem 
to deserve ; and others even entirely omitted. 

It is proper to add here, that the Author has made free use of 
such publications as he could find, containing anything to suit 
his purpose — whether in books, magazines, or newspapers ; but 
has been careful to admit nothing unless entitled to the fullest 
credit. 

Milwaukee, May, 1846. 



CONTENTS. 



Altitude of places, 


48 


Calmus, 


153 


Albion, 


179 


Calumet county, 


159 


Antiquities, 


16 


" town of, 


159 


Apple river, 


92 


Calumetville, 


158 


Arena, 


186 


Cass's expedition, 


23 


Ashippun, 


152 


Cassville, 


190 


Aztalan, 


148 


Canal lands, 


35 






Catfish river, 


176 


Bad Axe river, 


195 


Centre, 


142 


Ball river, 


195 


Ceresco, 


157 


Bash river, 


116 


Chester, 


153 


Beaver Dam, 


150, 15?. 


Chippewa county, 


196 


Belmont, 


183 


" river, 


196 


Beloit, 


140 


Climate, 


75 


Benton creek. 


92 


Clinton, 


142 


Black river, 


195 


Clyman, 


153 


Bloomfield, 


137 


Colleges, 


37 


Blue Mounds, 


178 


Columbia'county, 


169 


Blue river, 


192 


Como lake, 


139 


Bois Brule, 


201 


Concord, 


148 


Botany, 


71 


Copper, 


68 


Boundaries, 


11 


Counties, 


81 


Brighton, 


126 


Crawfish river, 


148 


Bristol, 


126 


Crawford county, 


192 


Brookfield, 


107 


Crooked lake, 


118 


Brown county, 


82 






Buffalo lake, 


165 


Dane county, 


172 


Burlington, 


126 


Darien, 


137 


Burnett, 


152 


Delafield, 


107 


Butte des Morts, 


163 


Delavan, 


138, 139 






Dells, 


171 


Caledonia. 


126 


Depere, 


85 



VI 


CONTENTS. 




Dodge county, 


149 


History, 


18 


Dodgeville, 


186 


Historical summary, 


26 


Dunkirk, 


179 


Howard, 


87 






Hubbard, 


153 


Eagle, 


108 


Hudson, 


138 


Early History, 


18 


Hustisford, 


153 


East Troy. 


137 






Elba, 


153 


Indians, 


27 


Elkhorn, 


138 


Internal Improvements, 


42 


Embarrass river, 


93 


Iowa county, 


181 


Emily (lake), 


149 


Ixonia, 


148 


Emmett, 


153 


Janesville, 


140 


Erin, 


106 


Jefferson county, 


143 






Jackson, 


146 


Fever river, 


188 


Jefferson, 


145 


First lake, 


175 


Johnstown, 


142 


Fond du Lac county, 


155 






Fort Atkinson, 


146 


Kakalin, 


84 


Fourth lake, 


176 


Katakittekon, 


95 


Fox lake, 


149 


Kauchee, 


118 


Fox river (of Green Bay), 


90 


Kewaunee, 


85 


Fox river (of Illinois), 


127 


Kickapoo, 


195 


Franklin, 


142 


Koshkonong, 


146 


Fulton, 


142 










Labraugh lake, 


118 


Genesee, 


108 


La Fayette county, 


182 


Geneva, 


138 


La Fayette, 


138 


Geneva lake, 


139 


La Grange, 


138 


Geology, < 


52, 179 


Lake (town of), 


108 


Germantown, 


106 


Lakes, 


14 


Gold lake, 


118 


Lake Mills, 


146 


Government, 


28 


Lancaster, 


191 


Governor, 


28 


La Pointe county, 


200 


Grafton, 


106 


Land Offices, 


31 


Grant county, 


188 


Latitude and Longitude, 


51 


Grant river, 


192 


Lead mines, 


68, 57 


Granville, 


108 


Lebanon, 


153 


Green Bay, 


86,97 


Legislature, 


28 


Green county, 


180 


Le Roy, 


153 


Greenfield, 


108 


Limestone district. 


61 


Green lake, 


165 


Lisbon, 


103 






Long's Expedition, 


25 


Health, 


80 


Lowell, 


153 


Helena, 


185 


Linn, 


138 





CONTENTS. 


Vll 


Madison, 


173, 178 


Pensaukee, 


94 


Manchester, 


159 


Peshtego, 


94 


Manitowoc county, 


98 


Pewaukee, 


120 


Marquette county, 


164 


Pewaugonee, 


95, 163 


Mauvaise river, 


201 


Pike, 


126 


Memee creek, 


102 


Pishtaka river, 


127 


Menomonee river, 


88, 117 


Platteville, 


191 


Menomonee, 


108 


Platte, mounds, 


183 


Mequon, 


107 


Pleasant Prairie, 


126 


Mequanigo. 


108 


Plover Portage, 


94 


Meteorology, 


79 


Polk, 


107 


Michigan (lake), 


129 


Population, 


38 


Milton, 


142 


Portage county, 


171 


Milwaukee, 


112,116 


Portland, 


153 


Milwaukee county, 


107 


Port Washington, 


107 


Mineralogy, 


63 


Potosi, 


190 


Mineral district, 


56 


Pre-emption, 


33 


" lands, 


34 


Prairie du Chien, 


194 


Mineral Point, 


186 


Prairieville, 


108, 111 


Monish lake, 


119 


Primitive district, 


52 


Montgomery county, 


182 


Productions, 


40 


Montreal river, 


202 


Public lands, 


30 


Mount Pleasant, 


126 


Pucka wa lake, 


165 


Mullet river, 


102 






Muskego, 


119 


Racine county, 


122 


Muskos, 


93 


Railroad, 


45 


Musquewoc lake, 


105 


Rainy Lake river, 


201 






Red Cedar river, 


196 


Nagowicha lake, 


119 


Richfield, 


107 


Nashotah lakes, 


119 


Richland county, 


166 


Natural History, 


70 


Richmond, 


138 


Neenah river, 


90 


Rivers, 


15 


Nemahbin lake, 


119 


Rochester, 


125 


New Berlin, 


108 


Rock county, 


139 






" river, 


150,153 


Oak creek, 


108 


" (town of) 


142 


Oakland, 


148 


Rockport, 


141 


Oconomewoc, 


108 


Rome, 


179 


Oconto river, 


94 


Root river, 


128 


Ossin river, 


150 


Rubicon, 


150, 153 


Ottawa, 


108 


Rum river, 


199 






Rush lake, 


164 


Paris, 


126 


Rutland, 


179 


Peckatonica, 


187 







viii 


CONTENTS. 




Saint Croix county, 


197 


Union, 


148 


Saint Francis river, 


199 


University lands, 


36 


Saint Louis river, 


201 






Salem, 


126 


Vernon, 


108 


Salt, 


64 


^Vieux desert (Lac), 


95 


Sandstone district, 


55 






Sauk county, 


168 


Walworth county 


136 


School lands, 


37 


Warren, 


108 


Second lake, 


175 


Washington county, 


104 


Sharon, 


138 


Water spout, 


77 


Sheboygan county, 


101 


Waterford, 


126 


Showanno lake, 


97 


Watertown, 


148 


Silver, 


69 


Waukesha county, 


127 


Silver lake, 


121 


Waapun, 


159 


Sinipee, 


191 


Wauwatosa, 


108 


Sinsiniwa, 


191 


Wesacota, 


94 


Southport, 


124 


West bend, 


107 


Spring prairie, 


138 


Wheatland, 


126 


Statistics, 


39 


Whitewater, 


138 


Stockbridge, 


160 


William stown, 


153 


Suamico, 


94 


Wind lake, 


127 


Summit, 


108 


Winnebago county, 


161 


Sun prairie, 


179 


" lake, 


162 






Winters, 


75 


Taycheeda, 


157 


Wisconsin river, 


167, 178 


Third lake, 


175 


Wolf river, 


95 


Topography, 


12 


Wright, 


107 


Trempaleau, 


195 






Trenton, 


153 


Yorkville, 


126 


Twin rivers. 


94 







WISCONSIN. 



The Territory of Wisconsin, as established at present, 
is bounded as follows : commencing in the middle of Lake 
Michigan, in north latitude forty-two degrees and thirty 
minutes ; thence north along the middle of the Lake, to a 
point opposite the main channel or entrance of Green Bay ; 
thence through said channel and Green Bay to the mouth 
of the Menomonee river ; thence through the middle of the 
main channel of said river to that head nearest the Lake of 
the Desert ; thence in a direct line to the middle of said 
Lake ; thence to the source of the Montreal river ; thence 
through the middle of the main channel of that river to its 
mouth ; thence with a direct line across Lake Superior to 
where the Territorial line of the United States last touches 
said lake northwest ; thence along said Territorial line to a 
point due north of the head waters or source of the Missis- 
sippi river, in longitude ninety degrees and two minutes 
west from Greenwich ; thence due south to the Missis- 
sippi ; thence along the middle or centre of the main 
channel of said river to latitude forty-two degrees and thirty 
minutes north ; thence due east to the place of beginning. 
It therefore embraces all that portion of the United States 
lying between the State of Michigan on the east, and the 
Mississippi on the west, which separates it from the Terri- 
tory of Iowa ; and between the State of Illinois on the 
south and the British possessions on the north ; extending 
from forty-two and a half to the forty-ninth degree of north 
latitude, and embracing about ten degrees of longitude. 
Taking the length of a degree of latitude and longitude in 
2 



10 EXTENT OF TERRITORY. 

this part of the globe, it is ascertained that Wisconsin is 
about five hundred and fifteen miles from east to west, and 
four hundred and forty-nine miles from north to south , 
measuring from the extreme points. But the average or 
mean extent of the Territory in longitude is only about one 
hundred and eighty-five miles, showing, therefore, a super- 
ficial area of eighty-three thousand and sixty-five square 
miles or sections ; equal to twenty-three hundred town- 
ships of six miles square each. Wisconsin is, therefore, 
more than one-half larger than Virginia, and more than 
twice as large as the State of New York. This calcula- 
tion, however, is only an approximation to the truth, for so 
little is accurately known of the course of the Menomonee, 
Montreal, and a part of the Mississippi rivers, that no ac- 
curate estimate can be made of the extent of territory em- 
braced within the limits of Wisconsin. The Menomonee 
has been ascertained to have a course very different from 
what was supposed, at the time it -was selected as a part of 
the boundary ; and a revision of that portion of the boun- 
dary between Michigan and Wisconsin which lies between 
Green Bay and Lake Superior becomes necessary, and will 
probably soon receive the action of Congress. A survey 
was made in 1840 and 1S41, by Captain Cram, and it now 
only remains for Congress to decide upon the exact boun- 
dary. The Wasecota, a branch of the Menomonee, is as- 
certained to have its source nearest the Lake of the Desert, 
and will therefore probably be established as a part of the 
boundary. 

Wisconsin being a part of the " Territory of the United 
States northwest of the Ohio river," claims, and indeed, 
Congress has by direct action confirmed to her* all the 

♦In the act establishing the Territory of Wisconsin, section 
twelve, where it is expressly declared " that the inhabitants of the 
said Territory shall be entitled to enjoy, all and singular the rights 
and advantages granted and secured to the people of the territory of 
the United States northwest of the Ohio river, by the articles of 



DISPUTED BOUNDARIES. 11 

rights and privileges secured by the ordinance of Congress 
of July 13, 1787, one of which is, " that Congress shall 
have authority to form one or two States in that part of 
said territory which lies north of an east and west line 
drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake 
Michigan ;" thereby fixing unalterably (without common 
consent) the southern boundaries of Michigan and Wiscon- 
sin. Notwithstanding this plain provision of the ordi- 
nance, which is declared to be " articles of compact be- 
tween the original States, and the people and States in the 
said territory, and for ever to remain unalterable unless by 
common consent," yet Congress, in establishing the bound- 
aries of the State of Illinois, extended that State about 
sixty miles north of the line thus unalterably established by 
the ordinance. This is claimed to be obviously unjust, and 
contrary to the spirit and letter of the compact with the 
original States. The subject of reclaiming this portion of 
our territory has been agitated in the Legislative Assembly. 
Michigan was compelled by superior influence to submit to 
a compromise by which she obtained, besides other valua- 
ble considerations, a much larger portion of territory than 
that in dispute ; and Wisconsin may from the same cause 
be obliged to submit to wrong for want of ability to enforce 
her rights. 

It is also contended by many that the portion of country 
set off to Michigan on Lake Superior, between the straits 
of Mackina and the Montreal river, as a compensation in 
part for the strip of land given to Ohio from her southern 
border, should also have constituted a portion of Wiscon- 
sin ; and especially as Michigan never made the least claim 
to it, and as the convenience of the inhabitants (when it 
becomes inhabited) will be best consulted by uniting them 
with Wisconsin. The validity of our claim to this territory, 

compact contained in the ordinance for the government of the said 
Territory, passed on the thirteenth day of July, one thousand seven 
hundred and eighty-seven." 



12 TOPOGRAPHY. 

however, may be questioned ; for it cannot be made out as 
clearly as in the case of the territory given to Illinois. 

The difficulties which it has been apprehended might at 
some future time arise between the United States and Great 
Britain relative to that portion of our northern boundary 
lying between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods, 
have been prevented by the settlement of that question in 
the treaty of 1S42, usually known as " Webster's Treaty." 
Great Eritain claimed all that portion of our Territory lying 
north of the St. Louis river, while we claimed that the 
Kamanistaquia, or Dog river, should be the boundary. By 
the treaty, an intermediate route was agreed upon ; and 
here again it is contended that the general government has 
given away a portion of the territory which should properly 
have belonged to Wisconsin. 

It is not probable that Illinois, Michigan and Great Bri- 
tain will be very ready to surrender the territory now 
claimed by them, and hence it becomes an important ques- 
tion to determine in what manner these disputes shall be 
settled. As in all cases of a similar nature, we may expect 
some difficulties to arise. It has been proposed in the 
Legislature to abandon all claims of this kind, upon condi- 
tion that Congress shall construct certain works of internal 
improvement which are at present very much needed ; and 
if the whole subject can be thus easily disposed of, it is un- 
doubtedly the best policy for the United States to accept 
of this very reasonable compromise. 

It is to be hoped that these questions of boundary may 
be settled to the satisfaction of all concerned, before they 
become of such importance as to create much excitement, 
trouble or difficulty in their adjustment. 

There are no mountains, properly speaking, in Wiscon- 
sin ; the whole being one vast plain, varied only by the 
river hills, and the gentle swells or undulations of country 
usually denominated "rolling." This plain lies at an 
elevation of from six to fifteen hundred feet above the level 



TOPOGRAPHY. 13 

of the ocean. The highest lands are those forming the 
dividing ridge between the waters of Lake Superior and the 
Mississippi. From this ridge there is a gradual descent 
towards the south and southwest. This inclination is in- 
terrupted in the region of the lower Wisconsin and Neenah 
rivers, where we find another ridge extending across the 
Territory, from which proceeds another gently descending 
slope, drained mostly by the waters of Rock river and its 
branches. These slopes indicate, and are occasioned by, 
the dip or inclination of the rocky strata beneath the soil. 
The Wisconsin hills and many of the bluffs along the 
Mississippi river] often attain the height of three hundred 
feet above their base, and the blue mound was ascertained 
by Dr. Locke, by barometrical observations, to be one thou- 
sand feet above the Wisconsin river at Helena. The sur- 
face is further diversified by the Platte and Sinsinawa Mounds, 
but these prominent elevations are so rare that they form 
very marked objects in the landscape, and serve the travel- 
ler in the unsettled portions of the country, as guides by 
which to direct his course. The country immediately bor- 
dering on Lake Superior has a very abrupt descent towards 
the lake ; hence the streams entering that lake are full of 
rapids and waterfalls, being comparatively worthless for all 
purposes of navigation, but affording a vast superabundance 
of water power, which may at some future time be brought 
into requisition to manufacture lumber from the immense 
quantities of pine trees with which this part of the Territory 
abounds. 

There is another ridge of broken land running from the 
entrance of Green Bay in a southwesterly direction, form- 
ing the " divide" between the waters of Lake Michigan 
and those running into the Bay and Neenah, and continuing 
thence through the western part of Washington county, 
crossing Bark river near the Nagowicka lake, and thence pass- 
ing in the same general direction, through Walworth county, 
into the State of Illinois. The irregular and broken ap~ 



14 LAKES. 

pearance of this ridge is probably owing to the soft and 
easily decomposed limestone rock of which it is composed. 
On our northern border is Lake Superior, the largest 
body of fresh water in the world, and on the east is Lake 
Michigan, second only to Lake Superior in magnitude, 
forming links in the great chain of inland seas by which we 
are connected with the " lower country" by a navigation 
as important for all purposes of commerce as the ocean 
itself. Besides these immense lakes, Wisconsin abounds in 
those of smaller size, scattered profusely over her whole 
surface. They are from one to twenty or thirty miles in 
extent. Many of them are the most beautiful that can be 
imagined — the water deep and of crystal clearness and 
purity, surrounded by sloping hills and promontories 
covered with scattered groves and clumps of trees. Some 
are of a more picturesque kind, being more rugged in their 
appearance, with steep, rocky bluffs, crowned with cedar, 
hemlock, spruce, and other evergreen trees of a similar 
character. Perhaps a small rocky island will vary the 
scene, covered with a conical mass of vegetation, the low 
shrubs and bushes being arranged around the margin, and 
the tall trees in the centre. These lakes usually abound in 
fish of various kinds, affording food for the pioneer settler ; 
and among the pebbles on their shores may occasionally be 
found fine specimens of agate, carnelian, and other 
precious stones. In the bays where the water is shallow 
and but little affected by the winds, the wild rice (Zizania 
aquatica) grows in abundance, affording subsistence for the 
Indian, and attracting innumerable water birds to these 
lakes. The rice has never been made use of by the settlers 
in Wisconsin as an article of food, although at some places 
it affords one of the principal means of support for the red 
men. It is said to be about equal to oatmeal in its qualities, 
and resembles it in some degree in taste. The difficulty of 
collecting it, and its inferior quality, will always prevent its 
use by white men, except in cases of extreme necessity. 



RIVERS. 15 

The Lake of the Woods, and Rainy Lake, near our north 
boundary, have been so often described as to need only to 
be mentioned here. Their thousand small wooded islands 
give them a peculiarly interesting and picturesque charac- 
ter not to be found in any other scenery in the world. 
Among the small lakes may be mentioned Lake Winne- 
bago, St. Croix (upper and lower), Cass Lake, Lake Pepin, 
the Four Lakes, the Mille Lac, Ottawa, Pewaugan, 
Pewaukee, Geneva, Greene, Koshkonong, and many others, 
all more fully described in other parts of this work. 

The Mississippi, the great river of rivers, forms, as before 
remarked, the western boundary of Wisconsin. It is aug- 
mented in this Territory by the waters of the Wisconsin, 
Black, Chippewa, St. Croix, and St. Francis rivers, which 
alone would be sufficient to form a very respectable 
" Father of Waters," but which scarcely swell the mighty 
flood of the Mississippi ; these with Rock river, which 
empties into the Mississippi in Illinois, and the St. Louis, 
Bois Brule, Mauvaise and Montreal rivers, tributaries of 
Lake Superior; and the Menomonee, Peshtego, Oconto, 
Pensaukee, Fox or Neenah, and Wolf rivers, tributaries of 
Green Bay ; and Manitowoe, Sheboygan, and Milwaukee 
rivers, tributaries of Lake Michigan, are the principal rivers 
in Wisconsin. Innumerable smaller streams and branches 
run through the whole extent of the Territory, so that no 
portion of it is without an abundant supply of good, and 
generally pure water. The Mississippi is navigable as far 
up as the Falls of St. Anthony. The Wisconsin is navi- 
gable as far up as the pine region above the Portage by 
small steamboats, at certain seasons of the year ; and they 
have been up Rock river as far as Aztalan, in Jefferson 
county, but these- streams are comparatively of little value 
for the purposes of navigation. All the principal rivers are , 
however, navigable for canoes. Their waters usually 
originate in springs and lakes of pure and cold water. 
Many of them, especially in the northern or primitive 



16 ANTIQUITIES. 

region, are precipitated over rocky barriers, forming beauti- 
ful cascades or rapids, and affording valuable sites for mills 
and manufactories of all kinds. The falls of St. Anthony, 
on the Mississippi, seven miles above the mouth of the St. 
Peter's, are only surpassed by the great Niagara, in pic- 
turesque beauty and grandeur ; and are now becoming a 
place of fashionable resort for summer tourists. 

The rivers running into the Mississippi take their rise in 
the vicinity of the sources of those running into the lakes, 
and they often originate in the same lake or swamp, so that 
the communication from the Mississippi to the lakes is ren- 
dered comparatively easy at various points. The greatest 
depression in the dividing ridge in the Territory is supposed 
to be at Fort Winnebago, where the Wisconsin river 
approaches within half a mile of the Neenah, and where, 
at times of high water, canoes have actually passed across 
from one stream to the other. Some of the rivers are sup- 
plied from the tamarack swamps, from which the water 
takes a dark color. 

Wisconsin does not fall behind the other portions of the 
western country in the monuments it affords of the exist- 
ence of an ancient people who once inhabited North Ame- 
rica, but of whom nothing is known except what can be 
gathered from some of the results of their labors. The 
works at Aztalan, in Jefferson county, are most known and 
visited, but there are many other localities which are said 
to equal them in interest and importance. The substance 
called brick at this place, is evidently burned clay, showing 
marks of having been mixed with straw, but they were not 
moulded into regular forms. There is a class of ancient 
earth-works in Wisconsin, not before found in any other 
country, being made to represent quadrupeds, birds, rep- 
tiles, and even the human form. These representations 
are rather rude, and it is often difficult to decide for what 
species of animal they are intended ; but the effects of time 
may have modified their appearance very much since they 



ANTIQUITIES. 17 

were originally formed. Some have a resemblance to the 
buffalo, the eagle, or crane, or to the turtle or lizard. One 
representing the human form, near the Blue Mounds, is, 
according to R. C. Taylor, Esq., one hundred and twenty 
feet in length : it lies in an east and west direction, the head 
toward the west, with the arms and legs extended. The 
body or trunk is thirty feet in breadth, the head twenty- 
five, and its elevation above the general surface of the 
prairie is about six feet. Its conformation is so distinct that 
there can be no possibility of mistake in assigning it to the 
human figure.* A mound at Prairieville, representing a 
turtle, is about five feet high ; the body is fifty -six feet in 
length ; it represents the animal with its legs extended, and 
its feet turned backwards. It is to be regretted that this 
interesting mound is now nearly destroyed. The ancient 
works are found in all parts of the Territory, but are most 
abundant at Aztalan, on Rock river, near the Blue Mounds, 
along the Wisconsin, the Neenah and the Pishtaka rivers, 
and near Lake Winnebago. 

The mounds are generally scattered about without any 
apparent order or arrangement, but are occasionally arranged 
in irregular rows, the animals appearing as if drawn up in 
a line of march. An instance of this kind is seen near the 
road seven miles east from the Blue Mounds, in Iowa 
county. At one place near the Four Lakes, it is said that 
one hundred tumuli, of various shapes and dimensions, may 
be counted — those representing animals being among others 
that are round or oblong. 

Fragments of ancient pottery of a very rude kind are 
often found in various localities. They were formed by 
hand, or moulded, as their appearance shows evidently that 

* The reader is referred to the " Notice of Indian Mounds, &c, in 
Wisconsin," in Silliman's Journal, vol. 34, p. 88, by R. C. Taylor; 
and to the " Description of Ancient Remains in Wisconsin," by S. 
Taylor, vol. 44, p. 21, of the same work, for more detailed descriptions 
and drawings of these interesting animal mounds. 
2* 



18 EARLY HISTORY. 

these vessels were not turned on a " potter's wheel.** 
Parts of the rim of vessels usually ornamented with small 
notches or figures, are most abundant. 

A mound is said to have been discovered near Cassville, 
on the Mississippi, which is supposed to represent an ani- 
mal having a trunk like the elephant, or the now extinct 
Mastodon. Should this prove true, it will show that the 
people who made these animal earthworks, were contempo- 
raries with that huge monster whose bones are still occa- 
sionally found ; or that they had then but recently emigrated 
from Asia, and had not lost their knowledge of the 
elephant. 

The first white persons who penetrated into the regions 
of the upper Lakes, were two young fur traders, who left 
Montreal for that purpose in 1654, and remained two years 
among the Indian tribes on their shores. We are not in- 
formed as to the details of their journey, but it appears that 
they returned with information relative to Lake Superior 
and perhaps Lake Michigan and Green Bay ; for in 1659 
the fur traders are known to have extended their traffic to 
that bay. In 1660 we are informed that Rene Mesnard 
explored the southern shore of Lake Superior ; and while 
crossing the Portage at Keweena, was lost in the forest. 

The first settlement of Wisconsin, may be dated back as 
far as 1665, when Claude Alloiiez establisheda mission at 
La Pointe on Lake Superior, four years before any perma- 
nent establishment was made at Green Bay. This was be- 
fore Philadelphia was founded by William Penn, and before 
the settlement of Charleston, in South Carolina. 

The first account we have of a voyage along the west 
shore of Lake Michigan (or Illinois Lake as it was then 
called) was by Nicholas Perrot, who, accompanied by some 
Potowatomies, passed from Green Bay to Chicago, in 1670. 
Two years afterwards, the same voyage was undertaken by 
Alloiiez and Dublon. They stopped at the mouth of the 
Milwaukee river, then occupied by Mascoutin and Kickapoo 
Indians. 



EARLY HISTORY, 19 

In 1673, or four years after the establishment at the Bay 
of Puans, now Green Bay (1673), Father Joseph Mar- 
quette, accompanied by Joliet, went up the Neenah (Fox) 
river, crossed the portage, and descending the Wisconsin, 
discovered the Mississippi on the 17th of June.* The Le- 
gislature has very properly named a country on the Neenah 
in memory of the first white man who ever saw the " Fa- 
ther of Waters" in this part of its course. It was six years 
after this discovery that La Salle made his voyage up the 
lakes in the first vessel (the Griffin) built above the Falls of 
Niagara, and who claimed the honor of having first discov- 
ered the Mississippi. An interesting account of this voyage 
was published by Louis Hennepin, in Paris, and is preserved 
in the Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society. 
The Griffin was about sixty tons burden, and carried five 
small guns. She sailed on the 7th of August, 1679, with 
thirty-four men, and on the 2d of September, they left 
Mackina, for the Bay of Puans. "Mr. La Salle," says 
Hennepin, "without taking anybody's advice, resolved to 
send back the ship to Niagara, laden with furs and skins, to 
discharge his debts. Our pilot, and five men with him, 
were therefore sent back. They sailed on the 18th, with a 
westerly wind. It was never known what course they 
steered, nor how they perished, but it is supposed the ship 
struck upon the sand, and was there buried. This was a 
great loss to Mr. La Salle, and other adventurers, for that 
ship, with its cargo, cost about sixty thousand livres." Thus 
the want of harbors on Lake Michigan began to be felt 
more than a century and a half ago, and the fate of the 
Griffin was only a precursor of a thousand similar disasters. 

The adventurers continued their voyage in four canoes, 
along the coast of the lake by Milwaukee, to " the mouth 

* Marquette was not the first discoverer of the Mississippi — that 
honor belongs to Hernando de Soto, who crossed it in 1541. See 
Bancroft's Hist. U. S., i., p. 51. From this work we have taken many 
of the facts and dates given above. 



20 EARLY HISTORY. 

of the river Miamis " (Chicago 1) where a fort was erected. 
During this voyage they experienced one of those severe 
storms which are still so much dreaded on this lake. " The 
violence of the wind obliged us to drag our canoes some- 
times to the top of the rocks, to prevent their being dashed 
to pieces. The stormy weather lasted four days, during 
which we suffered very much, and our provisions failed us ; 
we had no other subsistence but a handful of Indian corn, 
once in twenty-four hours, which we roasted or else boiled 
in water ; and yet rowed almost every day from morning till 
night. Being in this dismal stress, we saw upon the coast 
a great many ravens and eagles, from whence we conjec- 
tured there was some prey, and having landed upon that 
place, we found above the half of a fat wild goat which 
the wolves had strangled. This provision was very accepta- 
ble to us, and the rudest of our men could not but praise 
the Divine Providence who took so particular care of us." 

From this place La Salle returned, and Hennepin with 
two men (Picard and Ako) crossed over to the Illinois, and 
descended that stream and the Mississippi, to the Gulf of 
Mexico, being thus the first to discover the mouth of that 
mighty river. While returning they were taken by a party 
of Indians, and travelled with them nineteen days up the 
Mississippi to within six leagues of the Falls of St. Antho- 
ny, a name then first applied to this romantic place in honor 
of the patron saint of the expedition. From thence they 
travelled for sixty leagues, on foot, to the habitations of the 
Indians, where they were joined by Sieur de Luth, and five 
men. Towards the end of September (16S0), they de- 
scended the river named by them the St. Francis, to the 
Mississippi, and passing by way of the Wisconsin and Fox 
rivers, arrived at Green Bay, where they found many Cana- 
dians, come there for the purpose of trade. 

The Baron La Hontan, who published an account of his 
wanderings in 1703, visited Green Bay in 1689 ; from 
thence he went across to the Mississippi. His account of 



EARLY HISTORY. 21 

Long river, a branch of the Mississippi from the west, has 
been supposed to be entirely fabulous, but according to Mr. 
I. N. Nicollet the Cannon (or Canoe) river of Iowa agrees 
very well with this account. 

We have no data at hand from which to estimate the 
quantities of furs' purchased by the French at this early pe- 
riod, and sent to Europe. This constituted almost the sole 
motive for " locating " in these wild, and till then unknown 
shores. The French are possessed of the peculiar faculty 
of making themselves " at home " with the Indians, and 
lived without that dread of their tomahawks which is so 
keenly felt by the pioneers of English settlements. They 
were not able, however, to maintain friendly terms with all 
the different tribes into which the Indian population was di- 
vided, for before the close of the seventeenth century we 
find them united with the Chippewas and Menomonees, 
contending with the Sauks and Foxes for a free passage 
across the country from Green Bay to the Mississippi, in 
which they met with complete success, by a decisive battle 
fought at Butte des Morts, or the Hill of the Dead. " The 
Ottagamies (Foxes) had selected a strong position upon the 
Fox river, which they fortified by three rows of palisades 
and a ditch. They here secured their women and children, 
and prepared for a vigorous defence. Their entrenchment 
was so formidable that De Louvigny, the French com- 
mander, declined an assault, and invested the place in form. 
By regular approaches he gained a proper distance for min- 
ing their works, and was preparing to blow up one of the 
curtains, when they proposed a capitulation. Terms were 
eventually offered and accepted ; and those who survived 
the siege were preserved and liberated.* No further diffi- 
culties existed between the French traders and missiona- 
ries, and the Indians, from that period down to the present 
time. How different would it probably have been, had al- 

* Cass— Hist, and Sci. Sketches of Michigan, p. 22 (1834). 



22 EARLY HISTORY. 

most any other nation attempted to penetrate so far into the 
country of these " wild men of the woods ! " 

P. De Charlevoix made a voyage through Lake Michi- 
gan, and thence by way of the Illinois and Mississippi to 
New Orleans, and published his journal ; and also a " His- 
tory of New France," as this part of the world was then 
named, in 1721. • 

Wisconsin remained in possession of the French, and 
constituted a portion of " New France," until 1763, when 
it was surrendered to Great Britain, and became subject to 
her government. This change of government, it may be 
supposed, produced but little change in the condition of 
things in places so remote from the seat of government. 
Green Bay and Prairie du Chien were then the only posts 
occupied within our limits. British authority was exer- 
cised over us from this period until the northwestern coun- 
try was transferred to the American government, in 1794, 
being seven years after the date of the ordinance for the es- 
tablishment of a " Territorial Government" in the same. 
During this period of thirty-one years, but little change took 
place in Wisconsin — the Indian continued to hunt the deer, 
and to trap the beaver unmolested, and bartered his furs at 
Green Bay, or Mackina, for the trifles, or " fire water" of 
the trader. 

As early, however, as 17S0, Peosta, the wife of an Otta- 
gamie warrior, discovered lead near the Mississippi river ; 
and in 177S, Julian Dubuque obtained from the Indians at 
Prairie du Chien, a grant of land, extending seven leagues 
on the Mississippi, and three leagues deep. This grant 
was recognized by the Spanish government in 1796, but 
was not confirmed by our own. For several years the min- 
ing operations were quite limited, as may well be sup- 
posed ; and in 1S05, Mr. Dubuque informed Lieut. Pike 
that he raised from twenty to forty thousand pounds annu- 
ally. Schoolcraft informs us that the settlement of Prairie 
du Chien was first begun in 17S3, by Mr. Giard, Mr. An- 



oass's expedition. 23 

taya and Mr. Dubuque, but that there had formerly been an 
old settlement about a mile below the site of the present 
village, which existed during the time the French had pos- 
session of the country. 

Governor Cass, in 1819, one year after this country was 
annexed to the territory under his authority, proposed to 
the Secretary at War (J. C. Calhoun) that an expedition 
be fitted out to explore it, which was accomplished the 
following year. The party consisted of Lewis Cass, Go- 
vernor of Michigan Territory ; Dr. Alexander Wolcot, phy- 
sician ; Capt. D. B. Douglass, civil and military engineer ; 
Lieut. iEneas Mackay, commanding the soldiers ; James 
D. Doty, secretary to the expedition ; Robert A. Forsyth, 
Charles C. Trowbridge, Alexander R. Chase, and Henry R. 
Schoolcraft, mineralogist, whose " Narrative Journal," pub- 
lished in 1821, is replete with valuable information relative 
to this country. From this work we learn that Wisconsin 
was even then but little more than the abode of a few In- 
dian traders scattered here and there throughout the Terri- 
tory, as at Lapointe, Fond du Lac — on the Bois Brule — the 
St. Croix — Sandy Lake — Leech Lake — Milwaukee — and 
many other points. These posts were usually protected by 
a stockade, enclosing, perhaps, a hundred feet square ; that 
at Sandy Lake had bastions at two of its angles pierced for 
musketry. " The pickets were of pitch-pine, thirteen feet 
above the ground, a foot square, and pinned together with 
stout plates of the same wood. There were three gates, 
which are shut whenever liquor was dealt out to the In- 
dians. The stockade enclosed two rows of buildings, con- 
taining the provision store, work-shop, warehouse, rooms 
for the clerks, and accommodations for the men. On the 
west and southwest angles of the fort were four acres of 
ground enclosed with pickets, and devoted to the culture of 
potatoes." This fort was first erected in 1794, by the 
Northwest Fur Company. The garrisons at Prairie du 
Chien and at the mouth of the St. Peter's were first estab- 
lished and occupied in 1819. 



24 



CASS'S EXPEDITION. 



At this time but little was known of the value of the 
lead and copper mines on the upper Mississippi — only three 
places being known besides the Dubuque mines, where 
lead could be obtained, and these were worked exclusively 
by the women of the Fox Indians, assisted perhaps by the 
old men — the young men and warriors holding themselves 
above it. " They employ the hoe, shovel, pick-axe and 
crow-bar, in taking up the ore. These things are supplied 
by the traders, but no shafts are sunk, not even of the sim- 
plest kind, and the windlass and the bucket are unknown 
among them. They run drifts into the hill as far as they 
can conveniently go, without the use of gunpowder, and if 
a trench caves in, it is abandoned. When a quantity of ore 
has been got out, it is carried in baskets by the women to 
the Mississippi, where it is purchased by the traders, at the 
rate of two dollars for a hundred and twenty pounds, paya- 
ble in goods at Indian prices." The settlement at Green 
Bay is mentioned by Schoolcraft upon his approach down 
the Fox river, as a country of exceeding beauty, " check- 
ered as it is with farmhouses, fences, cultivated fields, the 
broad expanse of the river, the bannered masts of the ves- 
sels in the distant bay, and the warlike display of military 
barracks, camps and parades. The scene burst suddenly 
into view, and no combination of objects in the physiogno- 
my of a country could be more happily arranged, after so 
long a sojournment in the wilderness, to recall at once to 
the imagination the most pleasing recollections of civilized 
life. The settlement now consists of sixty dwelling-hou- 
ses, and five hundred inhabitants, exclusive of the garrison. 
They are, with few exceptions, French, who have inter- 
married with Indian women, and are said to be indolent, 
gay, intemperate and illiterate. They are represented to 
have been subservient to the interests of the British, during 
the late war. This settlement is now the seat of justice for 
Brown county, in the Territory of Michigan, and the ordi- 
nary courts of law are established." Prairie du Chien con- 



long's expedition. 25 

tained a similar population, of about five hundred, occupy- 
ing about eighty buildings, the principal part of which were 
of logs, arranged in two streets, parallel with the river. On 
the 26th of August, the party encamped at the mouth of 
the Milwaukee river, where they found" two American 
families, and a village of Pottowatomies : it is the division 
line between the lands of the Menomonees and the Potto- 
watomies ; the latter claim all south of it." At the por- 
tage between the Wisconsin and Fox rivers, they found " a 
good wagon road, and a Frenchman lives on the spot, who 
keeps a number of horses and cattle, for the transportation 
of baggage, for which twenty-five cents per hundred-weight 
is demanded." 

In 1S23, Major Long commanded a party, on an expedi- 
tion similar to that of Governor Cass, that traversed the 
country from Chicago to Prairie du Chien, where they found 
only about one hundred and fifty souls. From thence they 
went up the Mississippi and the St. Peter's, and back by the 
north shore of Lake Superior. 

In 1832, another expedition passed through the country, 
under the direction of Schoolcraft, and from his pen we 
have a volume published in 1834, being a " Narrative of an 
expedition through the upper Mississippi to Itasca lake, the 
actual source of that river." 

The Sauk war, which broke out this year (1832), per- 
haps did more than anything else to turn the attention of 
emigrants and others to this country, by bringing it into 
notice. It is not proposed here to enter into details con- 
cerning this Indian disturbance, having but little to add to 
what has already been published upon the subject. 

Soon after these troubles were ended, the lands were sur- 
veyed by order of the Government, and not till then was 
commenced that rapid settlement of the country which has 
now filled it with a population of more than one hundred 

THOUSAND SOULS. 

Mr. I. N. Nicollet, with his barometer and astronomical 



/ 



26 HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 

instruments, has, within the last few years, explored the 
regions adjacent to the upper Mississippi, under the authority 
of the United States Government ; and his report published 
in 1843 is replete with valuable information relative to that 
remote, unsettled region. The latitude and longitude of 
many points were ascertained and their elevation above the 
ocean ; and his map of the upper Mississippi is supposed to 
be very nearly correct. The observations made at the 
source of that stream are important, as showing our western 
boundary north of that point. 

Since this country became a portion of the United States, 
Wisconsin has successively been under the government of 
Virginia, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan. The territory once 
belonged to Virginia, or at least she has now the full credit 
of having ceded it, together with all the " territory north- 
west of the Ohio river," to the United States. Up to the 
year 1800, Wisconsin was under the authority of the Ter- 
ritorial Government established in Ohio. In that year she 
was attached to " Indiana Territory," and remained so until 
1809, when the " Illinois Territory" was organized, extend- 
ing north to Lake Superior, and of course including Wis- 
consin. When Illinois took her place in the Union, in 
1818, our Territory was finally attached to Michigan, and 
remained so until the organization of the present Territorial 
Government, in 1836. 

We see, therefore, that within the space of one hundred 
and sixty-six years, Wisconsin has been successively ruled 
by two kings, one State, and four Territories, and we have 
finally set up for ourselves, without any great and exciting 
events to produce these revolutions. The people have 
submitted to each change without a struggle or a murmur. 
They have been under the government of France from 1670 

to 1763, or 93 years. 

Of Great Britain, from 1763 to 1794, - 31 " 
Of Virginia and Ohio, from 1794 to 1800, 6 " 

Of Indiana, from 1800 to 1809, - - 9 " 



INDIANS. 27 

Of Illinois, from 1809 to 1818, - 9 years. 

Of Michigan, from 1818 to 1836, - IS " 



Total, - - - 166 years. 

In the more settled portions of the Territory, but few In- 
dians are now to be found ; most of them having removed 
to the north, or to the west side of the Mississippi. Occa- 
sionally a band of Menomonees take up their winter quar- 
ters on the head branches of Rock river, and other places, 
and bring their peltries to Milwaukee for sale. The Chip- 
pewas are the most numerous, occupying the country bor- 
dering on Lake Superior, and about the source of the Mis- 
sissippi. The Sioux or Dacotas, whose country lies prin- 
cipally on the west side of the Mississippi, occasionally 
cross that stream and occupy a portion of our Territory at 
the north.. These, with a few Winnebagos, and an occa- 
sional Pottowatomie, make up the tribes of Indians occupy- 
ing or inhabiting Wisconsin. 

The Stockbridge and Brothertown Indians on the eas* 
side of Lake Winnebago in Calumet County, have been 
admitted to all the rights and privileges of citizens of the 
United States ; being the first case of this kind in the his- 
tory of our government. With the Oneidas, located a few 
miles west of Green Bay, they emigrated from New York 
about the year 1833. They are in character and habits 
much more like the whites than like the wild Indian. 
They are sober, honest, and industrious farmers, and occupy 
fixed places of abode. They have one member in the 
Legislature. 

The Chippewas and Sioux are at enmity with each 
other, and have been (notwithstanding all the efforts made 
to reconcile them) as long as they have been known by 
white men. Their deadly hatred will probably become 
satisfied only by the entire extermination of one of these 
powerful and warlike tribes. The warriors on both sides are 
distinguished for many acts of daring bravery. In two 



28 GOVERNMENT. 

battles fought in the summer of 1S39, between these tribes, 
it is estimated that two hundred Indians, mostly of the 
Chippewas, were killed. 

The Indians have, by various treaties, ceded to the 
United States all their lands in Wisconsin, except a portion 
lying between the west end of Lake Superior and the head 
waters of the Mississippi. This, therefore, is all that 
now remains in possession of the original owners — the 
Indians. 

The Governor is appointed for three years, by the Presi- 
dent of the United States, by and with the advice and con- 
sent of the Senate. He is, ex officio, Superintendent of 
Indian affairs within the Territory ; and his salary is two 
thousand five hundred dollars per annum — paid by the 
General Government. The Governor is required, by the 
" organic law " establishing the Territorial Government, to 
reside within the Territory ; is commander-in-chief of the 
militia ; and has the power of vetoing the acts of the Legis- 
lature. He may at any time be removed by the President 
of the United States ; is required to commission all officers 
under the laws of the Territory ; and it is his duty to take 
care that the laws are faithfully executed. 

The Secretary is appointed in like manner, and holds 
his office for four years, unless sooner removed by the 
President of the United States. It is his duty to record 
and preserve all the laws and proceedings of the Legisla- 
tive Assembly, all the acts and proceedings of the Governor 
in his executive department ; to transmit one copy of the 
laws and one copy of the executive proceedings to the 
President of the United States, and at the same time two 
copies of the laws to the Speaker of the House of Repre- 
sentatives. He is authorized to act as Governor, in case 
of the death, removal, resignation, or necessary absence of 
that officer. His salary is twelve hundred dollars. 

The Legislature consists of the Governor, a Council of 
thirteen members, elected for two years, and a House of 



GOVERNMENT. 29 

Representatives, of twenty-six members, elected for one 
year. The members are apportioned among the different 
counties, according to the population (Indians excepted). 
The Legislative power extends " to all rightful subjects of 
legislation " — but no law can be passed interfering with the 
sale or disposal of the public lands. No tax can be im- 
posed on the public lands, and the property of non-residents 
cannot be taxed higher than that of residents. All laws 
have to be submitted to, and if disapproved by, the Con- 
gress of the United States, they become null and void ; and 
laws incorporating banks do not take effect unless approved 
by Congress. The members of the legislature receive 
three dollars per day, when in session, and three dollars for 
every twenty miles trayel in going to and returning from 
Madison. They meet annually, on the first Monday in 
December, and their sessions are limited to seventy-five 
day, or rather by the amount of the appropriations made 
by Congress. 

The Judicial power is vested in a Supreme Court, 
District Courts, Probate Courts, and Justices of the Peace. 

The Supreme Court consists of a Chief Justice and two 
associate Judges, appointed during good behavior, who hold 
a term annually, at Madison, the seat of Government, on 
the third Monday in July. The salary of the Judges is 
eighteen hundred dollars. 

The District Court is held twice a year, in each county, 
by one of the Judges of the Supreme Court, at such times 
as are prescribed by law. The Territory is divided into 
three Judicial Districts. The First, Charles Dunn, District 
Judge, consists of the counties of Crawford, Grant, and 
Iowa. The Second, David Irwin, Judge, consists of the 
counties of Walworth, Rock, Green, Dane, Jefferson, 
Sauk, and Portage. The Third, Andrew G. Miller, Judge, 
consists of the counties of Brown, Milwaukee, Racine, 
Washington, Dodge, and Fond du Lac* 

* The remaining counties are not organized for judicial purposes, 
but are attached to some one of those here named. 



30 PUBLIC LANDS. 

The Supreme and District Courts possess Chancery, as 
well as common law jurisdiction. 

The Judges of Probate, and Justices of the Peace, 
are elected by the people. The Justices have no jurisdic- 
tion where the title of land is in dispute, nor where the 
sum claimed exceeds fifty dollars. 

A Delegate to Congress is elected every two years, 
who is entitled to a seat in the House of Representatives, 
and the privilege of speaking, but has no right to vote on 
any question. 

An Attorney, and Marshal, are appointed by the 
President, for the term of four years, unless sooner remov- 
ed : and the Legislature have created the office's of Trea- 
surer, Auditor, and Superintendant of public property. 

Wisconsin has now a population sufficient to entitle her 
to claim an admission into the Union, as an independent 
State, on an equal footing with the other original States, 
that population being fixed by the ordinance of 1787, at 
sixty thousand ; and a very general disposition is now 
manifested among the people to organize a State govern- 
ment without delay. We are then entitled to a place in 
the Union on an equal footing with the other States. 

There are three Land Offices in Wisconsin, for the dis- 
posal of public or government lands ; at Milwaukee, 
Mineral Point, and Green Bay. 

The Milwaukee Land District includes all the land 
from range number nine east, to Lake Michigan ; and from 
the Illinois State line, to town ten, inclusive ; and also 
towns eleven and twelve, in the ranges number twenty, 
twenty-one, and twenty-two. The first public sale at this 
office was held in the early part of the year 1839, and the 
amount of money received was nearly half a million of 
dollars. 

The Green Bay Land District includes all the country 
north of the Milwaukee District, and the first public sale 
was in 1835. 

The Mineral Point District lies west of the Milwaukee 



PUBLIC LANDS, 31 

District, extending to the Mississippi river, and including 
all the " Mineral Lands." The first sales at Mineral Point 
also took place in the year 1835. 

The following table shows the amount of land sold in 
Wisconsin, and the amount paid for it. It is made from 
the reports of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, 
at Washi no-ton: 



Years. 


Acres. 


Amount. 


1835 


217,543.91 


$316,709.07 


1836 


646,133.73 


808,932.32 


1837 


178,783.45 


223,479.45 


1838 


87,256.31 


109,416.14 


1839 


650,72282 


819,909.90 


1840 


127,798.34 


159,848.48 


1841 


101,731.17 


127,446.31 


1842 


127,895.58 


163,778.60 


1843 


167,746.30 


214,294.00 


1844 


260,440.85 


332,392.24 


1845 


392,540.00 


491,900.00 



Total, 2,958,592.46 $3,768,106.51 

It thus appears, that Wisconsin has already contributed 
nearly four millions of dollars for the support of the 
general government, from this item alone ; and that the ave- 
rage price paid for lands here, is less than two cents over 
the minimum price of $1,25 established by the government; 
and also that the sales have been rapidly increasing for the 
last few years, so that they now amount to nearly half a 
million of dollars per annum. It is gratifying to learn that 
a large proportion of the entries is made for the purpose 
of actual cultivation, as is indicated by the fact, that they 
are mostly for the smaller subdivisions. Thus, of 5255 
entries made at Milwaukee in 1845, no less than 4159 were 
for lots not exceeding forty acres each, and only 442 were 
for lots exceeding eighty acres each. In a late report from 
the general land office, it is stated that there were on the 
30th day of June, 1845, in Wisconsin, 5,737,085 acres of 
land, that had been offered at public sale, and were then sub- 
ject to entry at the minimum price. 

The public lands in Wisconsin are, as elsewhere in the 



32 



PUBLIC LANDS. 



west, surveyed into townships, six miles square each, and 
subdivided into sections of one mile square, or six hundred 
and forty acres. The townships are numbered from the 
base line, which is the south line of the Territory, and the 
ranges of townships are numbered east and west, from a 
line in the Mineral Point District running between the 
counties of Grant and Iowa, called the fourth principal me- 
ridian. Thus, Milwaukee is said to be in township number 
seven north, and in range number twenty-two east; and 
Cassville is in township number three north, and in range 
number five west of the fourth principal meridian. The 
sections in each township are numbered from one to thirty- 
six, beginning at the northeast corner, as shown in the 
following figure. 

The section numbered sixteen is in all cases reserved for 
the use of schools in the township : 

NORTH. 





6 


5 


4 


3 


2 


1 




7 


8 


9 


10 


11 


12 








School 










IS 


17 


16 


15 


14 


13 


H 






Section 








W 














* 
















19 


20 


21 


22 


23 


24 




30 


29 


28 


27 


26 


25 




31 


32 


33 


34 


35 


36 



SOUTH. 



PUBLIC LANDS. 33 

At the corners of each section, four trees are marked 

(one standing on each section) by the Surveyor, with the 

number of the township, range and section, thus : 

T7 T7 T7 T7 

R 14 R 14 R 14 R14 

S14 S 15 S22 S23 

These marks represent the corners, at which sections 14, 
15, 22 and 23 come together. 

By means of these marks, aided by a " sectional map," 
a person can, at any place in the woods, find his exact po- 
sition, and relative situation, and the distance from other 
places. 

The sections are divided into quarters of one hundred and 
sixty acres ; and the quarters are divided by a line running 
north and south, into two equal half quarters, or eighty 
acre lots. They are designated as the east or west half of 
the quarter. 

Great inducements are now offered by government to 
those who wish to purchase the public lands for actual im- 
provement and cultivation. By the pre-emption law 
approved September 4th, 1841, it is provided that every 
person who shall make a settlement in person on the public 
land and erect a dwelling, shall be authorized to enter a 
quarter section or one hundred and sixty acres, at the mini- 
mum price, before the public sale ; and thus secure the 
same against competition : and if any person shall settle 
upon and improve land subject to private entry, he may, 
within thirty days, give notice to the register of the land 
office of his intention to claim the land settled upon, and 
may within one year make proof of his right, and enter the 
land at the minimum price. He may thus be considered 
as a purchaser at a year's credit ; but if he fails to give the 
notice, or to make the requisite proof, his land again be- 
comes subject to private entry. 

At the land sales in the Mineral Point District, all those 
3 



34 MINERAL LANDS. 

tracts on which lead mines or diggings were found, or on 
which they were supposed to exist, were reserved to the 
United States, and have not yet been sold. These lands 
are claimed or occupied by miners, who hope to obtain a 
pre-emption to them from Congress. They were at first 
leased, under certain regulations by the government, for a 
rent of ten per centum of all the lead raised. The whole 
amount of land so reserved from sale is now estimated at 
about one million of acres. Owing to the difficulty of col- 
lecting this rent by the United States, it was, for several 
years, abandoned. Within the last four years, efforts were 
made by the government to collect lead rents, and resulted., 
according to the message of President Polk, as folldws : 
Amount expended in collection, - $26,11111 
Value of lead collected - - '" - 6,354 74 

Zoss to the government in four years 19,756 37 

Many veins or mines of lead have been discovered since 
the sale, on lands belonging to individuals ; and it is sup- 
posed that these now yield as much lead as those on the 
reserved or public land. The attempt, therefore, to collect 
these rents reduced the value of the mines on the reserved 
lands below that of their neighbors, who have no rent to 
pay; a course of policy obviously unjust. To remedy this 
evil it is only necessary for Congress to dispose of these 
reserved lands, as other public lands are disposed of; and 
it is believed that the efforts now making to induce the gov- 
ernment to adopt this policy, will be successful. It is sup- 
posed that this course would have a very beneficial effect 
upon the state of the mines, and even upon the character 
of the miners themselves. 

The Register of the Land Office at Mineral Point, in a 
letter to the Commissioner of the General Land Office,* 
says, that " among the regulations for the government of the 
mining country, there was one which required that a mining 
lot should be L\vo hundred and twenty yards square (ten 

* Dated March 23, 1838. 



CANAL LANDS. 



35 



acres), and bounded by lines running due east, west, north 
and south. The usual course adopted by persons wishing 
to try their fortunes in the business of mining, was to seek 
out an unoccupied spot, where they supposed they could 
find lead, and commence digging. If they found ore in 
sufficient quantities to warrant a continuance of labor, they 
would measure off their ground and fix their corner stakes, 
and then continue their works until they traced their dis- 
covery to a valuable vein or sheet, or found it to be delu- 
sive. In a vast majority of cases the labor expended in 
these attempts to discover lead ore was entirely lost ; and 
there are instances where men have expended years of la- 
bor, and large sums of money, and have never had the 
good fortune to discover a valuable vein or sheet of ore ; 
consequently the property of the miner, in a valuable vein 
or discovery of lead ore, is held inviolable by most of the 
residents of the country ; its sacredness is recognized by 
the courts and juries of the country ; and he clings to it 
with a tenacity which will admit of no relaxation. The 
lots claimed would probably embrace about three thousand 
acres. They are the sole dependence of numerous fami- 
lies ; their value has been discovered by the labor and per- 
severance of the miners ; and were they dispossessed of them 
by government, their families would be reduced to want. 
Jt is thought that the miners have an equitable and just 
claim on the government for aid and protection ; they ac- 
cepted its invitation to labor upon its territory and to deve- 
lope its wealth ; they have staked off, and labored for years 
upon some five or six hundred ten acre lots, and have paid 
the government about two hundred and thirty thousand 
dollars for the privilege." 

The. Milwaukie and Rock River Canal Company, in 
1838, in pursuance of authority granted in their charter, 
applied to Congress, on behalf of the Territory, and secured 
a grant or donation oY land, consisting of all the " sections 
and fractional sections which are numbered with odd num- 



36 UNIVERSITY. 

bers on the plats of public surveys within the breadth of 
five full sections, taken in north and south tiers on each 
side of said canal, from one end thereof to the other." 
This grant is made to the Territory to aid in the construc- 
tion of the canal ; and the land (as well as the even num- 
bered sections within the same distance from the canal) 
cannot be sold for less than two dollars and fifty cents per 
acre, being double the usual minimum price of public 
lands. Consequently the government, by taxing double 
price for the even sections, realize exactly the same amount 
of money from the sale of these lands as if the grant or do- 
nation had not been made. 

In July, 1S39, a sale of Canal lands was held at Milwau- 
kee, at which forty-three thousand four hundred and forty- 
seven acres were sold to the occupants of the land, at the 
minimum price of two dollars and fifty cents per acre. 

The purchasers at this sale, and other persons occupying 
these canal, and reserved lands, feeling the unjustness of be- 
ing compelled to pay double price for their lands, have 
induced the Legislature to remit the interest due ; to re- 
peal all laws authorizing further sales ; and even to decline 
having anything further to do with the grant, and to ask 
Congress to repeal the act making the same, so that the 
lands may revert back to the general government, and be 
sold as other public lands, at one dollar and twenty-five 
cents per acre. 

A donation of two townships, or forty-six thousand and 
eighty acres of land, has been made by Congress to the 
rerritory, to be selected by the legislature, from any un- 
sold public lands, for the purpose of establishing a Univer- 
sity in the Territory ; and in 183S, a law was passed " to 
establish the University of the Territory of Wisconsin," 
which is to be located at or near Madison, the seat of gov- 
ernment. It is under the direction of a J3oard of Visitors, 
consisting of twenty-one members, of which the Governor, 
Secretary of the Territory, and Judges of the Supreme 



SCHOOLS. 37 

Court, are members. This board held one meeting at 
Madison soon afterwards — but all subsequent attempts at 
meeting have failed, on account of the great number neces- 
sary to form a quorum, — consequently nothing has been 
accomplished in relation to this important subject. The 
Legislature, a few years since, appointed Commissioners 
to select a portion of the lands, who made a selection of 
ten thousand two hundred and fifty acres in the Milwau- 
kie Land District, and an equal quantity in the Green Bay 
District. In 1845, provision was made for selecting the 
remainder of the land. If this subject could be placed in 
the hands of a few discreet and practical men, it is believed 
that the lands donated might be made to produce a fund 
sufficient to establish, in a few years, an institution which 
would be a great honor and blessing to the country. Why 
is this matter so neglected in this enlightened age and 
country ? 

One thirty-sixth part of the whole Territory, being the 
section numbered sixteen in each township, is set apart for 
the use of schools. These sections are reserved from sale 
by the general government, and are to be transferred to 
Wisconsin whenever she becomes a State. School Com- 
missioners are appointed in each town to take charge of 
these lands — to lease them for a term of years — and to at- 
tend to other matters relative to common schools. A tax 
is levied upon all the taxable property, for the purpose of 
erecting schoolhouses, and of paying the incidental ex- 
penses of teaching. Already have a great number of school- 
houses been erected in the different towns and school dis- 
tricts. The number of scholars taught in 1840, according 
to the census then taken, was nearly two thousand. 

A college has been commenced, at a most beautiful lo- 
cation, on the Twin Lakes, twenty-seven miles west from 
Milwaukee, under the management of the Episcopalian 
Church. The energy which has characterized its com- 
mencement gives promise of much future usefulness. 



38 POPULATION. 

The preliminary arrangements have been made for the 
establishment of two other colleges, one at Beloit, in Rock 
county, under the direction of the Presbyterian and Con- 
gregational Churches, and one at Prairieville, Milwaukee 
county, to be called " Carrol College." Both are incor- 
porated. 

The Legislature, on the 5th of April, 1S43, adopted reso- 
lutions asking an appropriation of land by Congress, for 
the purpose of establishing within the limits of this Terri- 
tory, institutions for the instruction of the deaf and dumb, 
and blind, and an asylum for the insane. 

It is much to be regretted that no notice has been taken 
of this subject by Congress. 

In 1830, the United States census shows a population of 
three thousand two hundred and forty-five, in the counties 
of Brown, Crawford and Iowa, then constituting that por- 
tion of Michigan which is now established as a separate 
Territory of Wisconsin. In 1836, the population was over 
eleven thousand; in 1838, eighteen thousand; in 1840, 
thirty-one thousand; and in 1842, the date of the last enu- 
meration, it was forty-six thousand six hundred and seven- 
ty-eight. Since that census was taken, the flood of new 
comers, by every arrival, has been such that there cannot be 
a reasonable doubt that the present population of Wiscon- 
sin exceeds one hundred thousand souls. 

The following table shows the population of each coun- 
ty, at the date of the several enumerations : 



POPULATION. 



39 



COUNTIES. 



Brown, 

Calumet, .... 
Chippewa, . . 
Crawford, . . . 

Dane, 

Dodge, 

Fond du Lac, 

Grant, 

Green, 

Iowa, 

Jefferson, 

La Pointe,. .. 
Manitowoc, . 
Marquette, . . 
Milwaukee, . 
Portage, .... 

Racine, 

Richland, . . . 

Rock, 

Sauk, ...... 

Sheboygan, . . 
St. Croix, . . . 
Walworth, . . 
Washington, . 
Winnebago, . 



1830 1836 



,964 



692 



2,706 



,854 



1,589 



5,234 



2,892 



1838 



3,048 



1,220 
..172 
...18 



2,763 
..494 
3,21 

..468 



3,131 
2,054 



480 



1,019 
...64 



1840 1842 1845* 



2,107 

..275 



1,502 
..314 
...67 
..139 
3,926 
..933 
3,978 
..914 



. .235 

...1 

5,605 

1,623 

3,475 



1,701 
..102 
..133 
..809 
2,611 
..343 
..135 



2,146 

..407 



1,449 
..776 
..149 
..295 
5,937 
1,594 
5,029 
1,638 



..263 
...59 
9,565 
..646 
6,318 



2,867 
..303 
..221 
1,200 
4,618 
..965 
..143 



. 2,500 
....800 
,...800 
. 3,000 
. 4,500 
. 5,000 
. 1,800 
10,000 
. 5,000 
10,000 
. 5,000 
. 1,500 
....600 
....600 
25,000 
. 2,000 
12,000 
,...100 
. 7,000 
. 1,100 
. 1,200 
. 1,500 
10,000 
. 5,500 
... 500 



3,245 11,686) 18,149) 30,945 46,678 117,000 

By this table there appears to be a diminution of popu- 
lation in the county of Brown, between 1S3S and 1840, and 
in Portage county between 1840 and 1842 : the first was 
occasioned by setting off new counties from Brown, and the 
last by the omission, in 1842, of the soldiers and officers of 
the garrison at Fort Winnebago. In 1842, the population 
of Milwaukee county was nearly one-fourth of the whole 
number in the Territory. 

In 1840, the number of males was . . 18,757 

females . . . 11,992 

showing an excess of males of 6,765 

The number of free colored persons was . . 185 

" slaves . . . . 11 



* Estimated by members of the Legislature, in January, 1846. 



40 PRODUCTIONS?. 

The number of deaf and dumb ... 5 

" blind .... 9 

" insane and idiots .' . . 13 

Employed in agriculture .... 7,047 

e « mining ..... 794 

" commerce .... 479 

" manufactures and trades . . 1,814 

" learned professions . . . 259 

Number of white persons over twenty years of age who 

could not read or write .... 1,701 

Scholars in common schools . . . 1,937 

Until very recently lead, copper, shot, and furs, were the 
chief articles of export from Wisconsin — nearly all her 
other products being consumed within herself for* the sup- 
port of those engaged in mining, and of the immense im- 
migration which is so rapidly flowing in upon us ; thus cre- 
ating that best of all markets, a home market, for all the 
surplus produce. 

We may now add to this list, wheat, flour, pork, hides, 
wool, rags, beer, potash, saleeratus, brooms, and many 
other articles of produce and manufacture, exported by 
way of the Lakes, to the eastern markets ; and lumber sent 
down the Mississippi, from the pine regions of the Wiscon- 
sin, St. Croix, Chippewa, &c. 

The following table shows the products of Wisconsin 
during the year 1839, as exhibited by the United States 
census of 1840 : 

Pounds of lead produced, 15,129,350 

" wool, 6,777 

" wax, 1,474 

" hops, 133 

" tobacco, 115 

" silk cocoons, i 

" maple sugar, 135,288 

" soap, 64,317 

" tallow candles, 12,909 

Value of produce of quarries, $968 

" poultry, 16,167 



PRODUCTIONS. 



41 



Value of dairy produce, $35,677 

" orchard produce, 37 

<c home made or family goods, . . . 12,567 
" produce of market gardens, . . . 3,106 

" " nurseries, &c, . . . . 1,025 

" lumber produced, 202,239 

" skins and furs, 120,776 

Number of horses and mules, , 5,735 

" neat cattle, 30,269 

sheep, 3,462 

" swine, . 51,383 

Bushels of wheat, . . . . . . 212,116 

barley, 11,062 

oats, <g . 406,514 

buckwheat, ...... 10,654 

" Indian corn, . • 379,359 

" potatoes, 419,608 

Tons of hay produced, ..*... 30,938 

Cords of wood sold, 22,910 

Barrels of pickled fish, 9,021 

This cens-us further shows that there were then 178 stores 
and groceries, 14 lumber yards, 1 tannery, 3 distilleries, 3 
breweries, 6 printing-offices, 4 flouring mills, 29 grist mills, 
and 124 saw mills. 

It is made the duty of the Commissioner of Patents at 
Washington to collect statistics of the amount of agricultu- 
ral products of the country, annually, and make report to 
Congress. Although these estimates are conjectural, and 
necessarily imperfect, yet they are the best data we have 
for the amount of produce. The following is the estimate 
for Wisconsin in 1S44: 



Wheat, 


728,000 bushels, 


Barley, 


17,000 bushels 


Oats, 


1,000,000 « 


Rye, 


4,000 " 


Buckwheat, 


23,000 '< 


Indian Corn, 


560,000 " 


Potatoes, 


853,000 « 


Hay, 


67,000 tons. 


Sugar, 


216,000 pounds, 







This estimate is based on the supposition that the popu- 
lation had not increased to more than 52,379, which is only 
3* 



42 



INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 



about half its real amount. With due allowance for the 
increase of population and of land cultivated, it is probable 
that this estimate could be increased about one half, and 
still be within the truth. 

The value of taxable property in the different counties 
in 1845 was as follows : 



Milwaukee, 


$1,652,201 00 


Crawford, 


$271,982 00 


Racine, 


1,323,629 73 


Portage, 


190,978 69 


Walworth, 


1,294,573 00 


Dodge, 


174,900 69 


Grant, 


754,327 00 


Fond du Lac 


, 149,387 54 


Rock, 


618,084 28 


Manitowoc, 


127,549 16 


Iowa, 


611,688 25 


Sheboygan, 


117,271 47 


Dane, 


420,194 25 


Calumet, 


* 106,31 9 98 


Jefferson, 


418fll9 19 


Sauk, 


49,864 66 


Washington, 


394,610 00 


Marquette, 


36,971 00 


Brown, 


309,764 48 


Winnebago, 


14,834.50 


Green, 


288,854 96 














1,240,059 69 
$9,324,305 83 




8,094,346 14 


Total, 



Little has yet been done in the construction of public 
works in Wisconsin. Appropriations have been made by 
the general government, and expended on the. following 
roads ; 

From Green Bay, by Milwaukee and Racine, to the 
State line — distance one hundred and fifty-eight miles. 

From Milwaukee, by Aztalanand Madison, to the Mis- 
sissippi, at a point opposite Dubuque. 

From Sauk Harbor, on Lake Michigan, to Dekorre, on 
the Wisconsin river — distance eighty-six miles. 

From Fond du Lac, by Fox Lake, to the Wisconsin 
river. 

From Racine, by Janesville, to Sinipee, on the Missis- 
sippi — distance one hundred and fifty miles. 

From Fort Howard, Green Bay, by Fort Winnebago at 
the Winnebago portage, to Fort Crawford, at Prairie du 
Chien, called the "Military Road" — distance from Fort 
Howard to Fond du Lac, fifty-six miles ; thence to Fort 



INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 43 

Winnebago, sixty miles ; thence to Fort Crawford, one 
hundred and nineteen miles. 

From Southport by Geneva to Beloit sixty -nine miles. 

From Sheboygan by Fond du Lac to Fox river, sixty-five 
miles. 

Appropriations have also been made and expended for 
the construction of a pier at the north end of Lake Winne- 
bago, and of harbors at Milwaukee, Racine and Southport. 
Surveys have been made by Capt. T. J. Cram, of the Uni- 
ted States Topographical Engineers, for which appropria- 
tions were made by Congress, of the Wisconsin and Neenah 
rivers ; of Rock river ; and of the Catfish or river of the 
Four Lakes. The reports relative to these rivers have 
been published, accompanied by maps. Surveys have also 
been made for the sites of several harbors on Lake Michi- 
gan, by the U. S. Engineers, viz : at Kewaunee, Manito- 
woc, and Sheboygan. 

The Territory having no adequate resources of its own, 
and its government being only a limited and temporary one, 
not having the powers of sovereignty like an independent 
State, does not engage in the construction of public works, 
for the improvement of the country ; but numerous compa- 
nies have from time to time been incorporated for that pur- 
pose, as may be seen by the following list : 

The u Portage Canal Company" was incorporated by 
the Legislature of Michigan, in 1834, to construct a canal 
to connect the waters of the Neenah and Wisconsin rivers, 
at or near the place known as the Wisconsin Portage. 

The " Wisconsin Internal Improvement Company" was 
also incorporated by the Legislature of Michigan, in 1835, 
" for the purpose of opening a communication by land or 
water, between Green Bay and the Mississippi river ; by 
removing the obstructions in the bed of Fox river, or by 
creating a slack water navigation over its rapids, and by 
cutting a canal from the Fox to the Wisconsin or Rock 
rivers, or from Winnebago lake ; or by constructing a rail or 



44 INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 

macadamized road around the rapids of the Fox and Rock 
rivers." This law, so general in its provisions, was not to 
take effect until it was approved by Congress. 

The " La Fontaine Railroad Company" was incorpo- 
rated at the first session of the Legislative Assembly of the 
Territory of Wisconsin, to construct a railroad from La 
Fontaine, on Fox river, at the Grand Kakalin, to Winne- 
bago city, or some other convenient point on Lake Winne- 
bago. 

The " Belmont and Dubuque Railroad Company'' was 
incorporated in 1836, to construct a railroad from Belmont 
to the nearest and most eligible point on the Mississippi, 
with power to extend it to Mineral Point, and to Dodge- 
ville. 

The " Milwaukee and Rock River Canal Company" was 
incorporated in January, 1838, to construct a canal, or slack 
water navigation from the town of Milwaukee to Rock 
river, and also a branch to connect with the Fox or Pishtaka 
river at or near Prairieville. 

The " Root River Railroad Company" was incorporat- 
ed in 1838, to construct a railroad from at or near Ball's 
mill, on Root river, to the head of the lower rapids on said 
river, with the privilege of extending the same to Racine. 

The " Marquette and Kentucky City Canal Company" 
was incorporated in January, 1838, to construct a canal from 
Marquette, on Fox river or Lake Puckawa, to Kentucky 
city, (Dekorre) on Rock river. 

The " Racine and Rock River Railroad Company" was 
incorporated in 1838, to construct a railroad from Racine 
to Janesville, on Rock river. 

The "Pekatonica and Mississippi Railroad Company" 
was incorporated in 1S39, to construct a railroad from 
Mineral Point to the Mississippi, by the nearest and most 
practicable route. 

The " Pekatonica Navigation Company" was incorpo- 
rated in 1839, to improve the navigation of the Pekatonica 



INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 45 

from Mineral Point to the Illinois State line, by canal or 
slack water navigation. 

The " Michigan and Rock River Railroad Company" 
was incorporated in 1839, to construct a railroad from Rock 
river at or near the State line, to Lake Michigan, in the 
township of Southport. This Company was incorporated 
over again, in January, 1840. 

The " Fox River Improvement Company" was incorpo- 
rated in 1842, to improve the "navigation of the Neenah 
or Fox river, and the construction of rail or macadamized 
roads on the carrying places or portages on said river, from ' 
and to such points thereon as may be deemed practicable. " 
This list will indicate the improvements that have been 
deemed important, and which may hereafter be made, as 
the population and wealth of the country are such as to 
require them, and afford the means for their construction. 

These companies have done but little towards completing 
the works for which they were incorporated. The Portage 
Canal Company have constructed a tow-path, and dug a 
channel through which small boats may pass, in times of 
high water, between the Neenah and Wisconsin rivers. 

The Milwaukee and Rock River Canal Company have 
made all the necessary surveys and location of a canal, to 
connect the waters of Lake Michigan with those of Rock 
river ; but owing to the difficulties relating to the sale of the 
lands granted by Congress to aid in its construction, this 
Company have only been able to finish about one mile of 
canal, near its eastern termination. Fortunately, however, 
this portion of the work creates a very valuable water power, 
from which much benefit will accrue to the country, even 
should no further progress ever be made in the construction 
of the canal. 

The great object which it is most desirable to attain by 
works of internal improvement in Wisconsin, is the trans- 
portation of the fifty-five millions of pounds of lead, copper, 
and shot, produced in the mines in the western part of the 



46 INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 

Territory and adjacent portions of Iowa and Illinois to the 
shore of Lake Michigan, and the supply of that "Mineral 
District" with merchandize by way of the " Great Lakes." 
This, and the transportation of the surplus agricultural pro- 
ducts of the intermediate country to market, and the supply 
of goods to the interior population, it is believed can be best 
accomplished by means of a railroad from Milwaukee to 
the Mississippi river, a work entirely practicable. The two 
great obstacles at present in the way of the construction of 
this work are the difficulty of deciding upon the points at 
..which it shall terminate, and through which it shall pass— 
and the want of adequate funds. For the want of this im- 
provement the products of the mineral country have been 
transported to the Mississippi river, and from thence by way 
of New Orleans and New York back to Milwaukee, within 
one hundred and fifty miles from where it was originally 
produced. It is calculated by intelligent persons, that in 
this way the citizens of the mineral country have actually 
lost in useless transportation of their products, a sum which 
would be sufficient to construct this railroad; for all ex- 
penses incurred in bringing articles to market are but so 
much reduction of their value to the producers. The re- 
duction of the tolls on the Erie canal of New York, so 
promptly made by that State at the request of Wisconsin, is 
only of very limited benefit to us, -so long as lead has to be 
brought in waggons from the mining country to the lake 
shore. 

It is known from the surveys made for the Milwaukee 
and Rock River Canal, that there is no difficulty in the way 
of the construction of this work as far as Rock river, with 
gentle grades and curves ; and it is believed that by follow- 
ing the " dividing ridge 5 ' between the Wisconsin river and 
the streams running south into the Mississippi, there will 
be found but little difficulty on the entire route. 

The cost of transportation of lead by waggons, from 
Mineral Point to Milwaukee, in the summer, when the 



INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 47 

drivers can sleep in their waggons, and their cattle can find 
an abundance of feed on the open prairie, is about fifty cents 
per hundred pounds. At other seasons it varies from fifty- 
cents to one dollar per hundred pounds. At this lowest 
rate the fifty-five millions of pounds, if transported on a rail- 
road, would yield an income of two hundred and seventy- 
five thousand dollars per annum, which would be sufficient 
to pay the whole cost of the road in a few years. But if 
we take into the account the increase of business consequent 
upon this improvement, the merchandize that would be 
carried from Milwaukee to the mineral country, the agri- 
cultural and other products that would be transported on 
the road, and the toll derived from passengers, we cannot 
resist the belief that this project is one that must soon attract 
the attention of capitalists, even if the people of Wisconsin 
should not exert themselves much to accomplish so desira- 
ble an improvement. 

To bring the lead, copper, and shot, by way of the lakes, 
is an object of importance not only to Wisconsin, but to all 
the States bordering on the lakes — and even the New 
England States will derive a share of the benefits, in the 
diminished prices which they will have to pay for these 
necessary articles. Will they not, then, assist us in ac- 
complishing this object % 

Other portions of the Territory are endeavoring to secure 
this lead trade, and wherever it is brought to the shore of 
the lake, the magnitude of the trade will be such as to 
afford business for a great number of inhabitants, and thus 
be the means of building up a town. 

Besides the railroad it is proposed to improve the naviga- 
tion of the Wisconsin and Neenah rivers, so as to secure 
the trade to Green Bay, and efforts are now making to 
obtain an appropriation by Congress to accomplish this im- 
portant work. The estimated expense of this improve- 
ment, as made by Capt. Cram, is as follows s 



48 



ALTITUDE OP PLAGES. 



At Des Peres . . ■ # 20,306 79 

" Rapide de Croche . . ... . 19,062 29 

" Grand Kakalin ...... 107,574 85 

« Little Chute ...... 99,693 60 

" Grand Chute 82,386 74 

" Winnebago Rapids 23,748 50 

Between mouth of Wolf river and Fort Winnebago 6,230 50 

At the Portage 64,085 81 

Superintendence and contingencies . . . 25,385 10 

Total ..... $448,470 18 
This is but a very small sum, compared to the magnitude 
and importance of the work. 

The following table of the altitude of places ill Wisconsin, 
above the surface of Lake Michigan, may be useful in 
making future surveys for canals, railroads, or other public 
works, and also in making a geological survey. They 
were ascertained by actual levelling by the author, except 
where otherwise stated. To find the elevation of any of 
these places above the ocean, we have only to add the ele- 
vation of that lake which is 578 feet, to the altitudes here 
given. Fractional parts of a foot are omitted : 

Milwaukee river, at head of rapids 

Menomonee, at Ross' mill 

<c at crossing of U. S. road . 

" near the Forks . . . 

" at Verbryck's mill . 
Big Meadow, in Town 7, Range 20 ... 

Poplar Creek, on old Prairieville road . 
Hills, between Poplar Creek and Prairieville 
Pewaukee Lake (before it was raised), 
Pishtaka river, at foot of Prairieville rapids 

" " at Elgin, 111. (Mr. Gooding's report 
Pewaukee summit (Milwaukee and R. R. canal) 

Nagowicka Lake 

Nemahbin Lake ...-.., 

Crooked Lake 

North Twin (Nashotah) 

Cranberry Lake ....... 



Feet. 
37 
33 
61 
115 
144 
252 
240 
329 
263 
211 
115 
316 
304 
289 
288 
290 
269 



ALTITUDE OF PLACES. 49 

Silver Lake 278 

Oconomewoc Lake ....... 282 

La Belle Lake 273 

Rock river, opposite La Belle Lake .... 257 

< J " at Jefferson 186 

Hill at west end of Pewaukee Lake .... 393 

The following altitudes are estimated, from levels taken 
by Capt. Cram, at the rapids on several rivers, and an al- 
lowance made for the descent between them. They are 
supposed to be nearly correct : 

Feet. 

Rock river, at its source 316 

" at mouth of Catfish 163 

Rock river at State line (Belo it) 128 

Fourth Lake, in Dane county 210 

Lake Winnebago 160 

Summit between Lake Winnebago and Plum creek (85.5 above 

Lake Winnebago) 245 

Marsh at the head of north branch of the Manitowoc river (68 

feet above Lake Winnebago) . . ~ . . 228 

Wisconsin portage . 223 

Wisconsin river at Helena 170 

Blue Mound (1000 feet above Helena) .... 1170 

The following list of elevations is made from the Report 
of Mr. Nicollet, except the last four which were reported 
by Captain Cram. They were ascertained by means of the 
barometer, and are probably very nearly correct : 

•Surface of the Mississippi Feet 

At Rock Island, mouth of Rock river (below Lake Michi- 
gan), . 50 

64 

. 105 

136 

. 151 

166 

. 511 

552 

. 598 



Prairie du Chien (above Lake Michigan), 
Mouth of Sappah or Black river, 

Lake Pepin, 

Mouth of the St. Croix, 

Mouth of the St. Peter's, .... 

Mouth of Waberia or Swan river, 

Mouth of Crow Wing river, 

Mouth of Pine river, .... 

Mouth of Sandy Lake river, . 675 



50 ALTITUDE OP PLACES. 

At Mouth of Swan river, 712 

Kabekons or Little Falls, . . . . . 762 

Mouth of Leach Lake river, 778 

Cass Lake, 824 

Lac Travers, 878 

Itasca Lake, 997 

Bluffs, east of Prairie du Chien 432 

Dividing ridge between Sappah or Black river and the Prairie 

la Crosse river, six miles east of the Mississippi, . 525 

Uplands at mouth of the St. Croix river, .... 288 

Grand Portage, St. Louis river, 488 

East Savannah river, at mouth, 686 

Divide between East and West Savannah rivers, . . . 756 

Portage between St. Croix and Bule rivers, . . . 378 

Porcupine hills, near Lake Superior, 1032 

Head of Montreal river, 822 

Front Lake, 961 

Lac Vieux Desert . • . : . . . . 951 

Lake Superior, . : .18 

The following table of the latitude north, and longitude 
west, from Greenwich, of places within this Territory, is 
given here in this form, as affording greater convenience of 
reference than if given under the head of the several places. 
The observations were made by officers of the United 
States — principally by Mr. Nicollet. That they are not 
in all cases precisely accurate, is shown by the difference 
of the observations of different persons at the same places ; 
as at Prairie du Chien (Fort Crawford) and the mouth of 
the Montreal river : 



Places. 


Latitude. 


Longitude. 


ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. 






Fort Crawford ... 


43°03'31' 


90 Q 52' 30" 


Prairie du Chien, 


43 03 06 


91 09 19.5 


Island at mouth of Upper Iowa, 


43 29 26 


91 10 00 


Hokah (Root) river 


43 47 00 


91 11 30 


Prairie la Crosse .... 


43 49 00 


91 14 00 


Sappah (Black) river (opposite old 






mouth), .... 


43 57 14 


91 24 00 


Mount Trampaleu, .... 


44 01 07 


91 30 30 



LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE. 51 



Kawakomick, or Clear Water river, 


. 45° 24' 25' 


'94 c 


1 07' 30' 


Round Island at the lower end of Osakis 






rapids, . 


45 35 00 


94 


12 00 


Osakis river, at mouth, . 


45 35 35 


94 


12 00 


Watab river, .... 


45 37 00 


94 


14 30 


Pekushino river, .... 


45 46 50 


94 


18 30 


Wabezi (Swan) river, 2J miles above 


the 






mouth, .... 


. 45 54 30 


94 


22 00 


Omoskos, or Elk river, 


46 04 00 


94 


16 00 


Nokays river, 


. 46 10 30 


94 


18 45 


Kagi-wigwam (Crow Wing) river, 


46 16 50 


94 


22 45 


Nagapjika river (opposite mouth), . 


46 26 00 






Pine river, .... 


. 46 35 00 






Willow river, .... 


46 40 30 


93 


22 30 


Sandy Lake river, 


. 46 47 10 


93 


09 30 


Swan river, 


47 00 43 


93 


09 00 


Kabikons (Little) Falls, at head, 


. 47 14 50 


93 


26 45 


Wanomon (Vermillion) river, 


47 11 04 


93 


32 30 


Eagle's Nest, or Savannah, 


. 47 18 10 


93 


39 00 


Leach Lake river, at mouth, 


47 14 00 


93 


43 00 


Cass Lake, ..... 


47 42 40 






Cass Lake (old trading house on a tongue 






of land near the entrance of 


the 






Mississippi), 


47 25 23 


94 


34 00 


Pemidji Lake (Lac Travers) at entrance of 






the Mississippi, 


47 28 46 


94 


50 30 


Itasca Lake (Schoolcraft Island), 


. 47 13 35 


45 


02 00 


do 


47 10 00 


97 


54 00 


ON LAKE SUPERIOR, &C. 








Trading Post near mouth of the Pig< 


;on 






river, .... 


. 47 58 00 


89 


52 00 


Lapointe (old trading house at Madaline 






Island), .... 


46 47 10 


90 


53 30 


do .... 


. 46 44 31 






Mouth of Montreal river, 


46 41 19 






do 


. 46 33 00.5 90 44 30 


Head of Montreal river, 


46 18 18 


90 


24 38 


Trout Lake 


. 46 04 02 


89 


54 07 


Lake Katakittekon (S. Island) 


46 07 31 


89 


20 13 


Lac Brule, .... 


. 46 00 46 


89 


10 32 



45 17 16.4 


87- 


27 


21 


42 49 33 


87 


40 


22 


5 

46 39 50 


94 


15 


20 


1 

46 49 42 


96 


25 


00 


45 54 40 








45 30 10 


92 


40 


00 


48 56 04 








48 53 40 


94 


21 


15 


48 35 35 








48 14 05 








43 35 00 


89 


30 


00 


44 40 00 


87 


00 


00 



52 GEOLOGY PRIMITIVE DISTRICT. 

Mouth of Menomonee river, 

Racine, ..... 

St. Louis river at Fond du Lac (24 miles 

above Lake), 
Head of Long Rapids, on the St. Louis 

river, 

Head Kettle Rapids (St. Croix river), 

Falls of the St. Croix, . 

Sandy Island (Lake of the Woods) 

Mouth of Rainy Lake river, . 

Island in Rainy Lake, 

Lower Portage of St. Croix, . 

Fort Winnebago, 

Fort Howard (Green Bay), . 

The reader will not, of course, expect much information 
relative to the geological character of a country so recently 
brought into notice, a large part of which is still unin- 
habited by civilized man ; and all that can be attempted is 
a brief outline. Several geologists have travelled hastily 
through the country, mostly in small canoes along the 
principal rivers and lakes, and have published accounts of 
their necessarily limited and hasty observations. Among 
them are Mr. Schoolcraft, Mr. Keating (who was attached 
to Long's expedition), Mr. Featherstonhaugh, United 
States geologist ; and more recently, Mr. James Hall, one 
of the geologists of the State of New York, I. H. Nicollet, 
H. King, and J. P. Hodge. 

In 1839, a very minute and elaborate geological survey 
was made, under the authority of Congress, by Dr. D. D. 
Owen, and Dr. John Locke, of the " mineral region" in 
this Territory, as well as in Iowa and Illinois ; but as their 
report has never been fully given to the public, the results 
of this survey are but little known. 

The Territory may very naturally be divided into four 
geological districts, differing very materially from each 
other in physical character, dependent upon the rocks pre- 
vailing in each. They will be demonstrated, 1st, the 



GEOLOGY PRIMITIVE DISTRICT. 53 

Primitive ; 2d, the Sandstone ; 3d, the Mineral ; and 4th, 
the Limestone Districts. 

I. So far as is at present known, all the northern por- 
tion of the Territory, extending down the Mississippi nearly 
to the Falls of St. Anthony, thence across to the Falls of 
the rivers St. Croix, Black and Wisconsin, and thence to 
Lake Superior, along the course of the Chocolate river in 
Michigan, may be considered as primitive, or abounding 
in primitive rocks. They are mostly granite and horn- 
blende rocks, but the other varieties of rocks belonging to 
this class are also found, as is evinced by the following list 
of the localities observed by the geologists who have visit- 
ed this region. The only rock other than primitive in this 
district, is the " old red sandstone," one of the oldest of 
the transition rocks. Red-rock Island, in the Lake of the 
Woods, derives its name from a red granite rock, of which 
it is composed. Granite is also one of the most common 
of the boulders scattered over the Territory. Most of the 
islands in that lake, and Rainy Lake, which is similar to it 
in general character, consist of mica slate, the vertical 
layers of which are constantly decaying and falling into the 
water. Talcose rock is said to be found on the Missis- 
sippi, at the Little Falls ; and as this is the only rock in 
which gold occurs in the United States, it may be impor- 
tant to examine this locality with care. Hornblende 
rock is found at many of the rapids on the Upper Missis- 
sippi ; and it constitutes that rough, high, broken promon- 
tory extending into Lake Superior between the bays of 
Fond du Lac and Chegoinegan, called the Detour. A 
large proportion of the boulders contain more or less horn- 
blende in their composition. Some of the rocky islands of 
the Lake of the Woods, and of Rainy Lake, are composed 
of Sienite, which also occasions the falls at the outlet of 
the latter, where the water falls into the river over a ledge 
twenty-five feet high. Argillite is found at the "Portage 
aux Coteau," on the St, Louis river ; the sharp edges of 



54 GEOLOGY LAKE SUPERIOR DISTRICT. 

its vertical layers occasion much inconvenience in passing 
the portage. Serpentine is found in small masses on Lake 
Superior, containing grains of native- copper. It is also 
said to be found in connection with the celebrated copper 
rock from the Ontonagon river, now in the cabinet of the 
National Institute at Washington. To discover the locality 
of this rock in its native beds, then, becomes an important 
desideratum. According to Cleveland, Serpentine is asso- 
ciated with primitive and transition rocks, and exists in beds 
in gneiss, mica-slate, and argillite ; so that in any part of the 
primitive district of our Territory we may expect to find it. 
Granular quartz constitutes the Falls of Pickagama, 
on the Mississippi ; and Greenstone, having sometimes 
a columnar structure, is found on the St. Croix river, com- 
mencing twenty-four miles above the lake, and constituting 
the rocky glen at the Falls. 

The mineral district of Lake Superior, which is now 
beginning to attract so much attention, lies mostly in Michi- 
gan, between the Montreal river and Kewena Point ; and, 
therefore, does not properly require a description here. 
Its geological character is entirely different from the Wis- 
consin lead and copper district. * But the trap dykes with 
which the veins of copper ore are more or less associated, 
are known to extend northward to the Menomonee and 
Wisconsin rivers ; and hence it is supposed that copper 
may hereafter be discovered in all the intermediate country 
from Lake Superior to the region of lead and copper mines 
south of the Wisconsin river. Some recent discoveries of 
copper on the Menomonee, the Baraboo, and Kickapoo 
rivers seem to favor this supposition. At La Pointe, also, 
the same formations exist ; and future explorations may 
develope valuable mines in that vicinity. 

II. The country next to the Primitive district, extend- 
ing along the Mississippi from the Falls of St. Anthony to 
the borders of the Mineral district, a short distance south 
of the Wisconsin river, and extending up the branches of 



GEOLOGY SANDSTONE DISTRICT. 55 

the Mississippi to their respective falls, is composed of 
Sandstone, resting upon, and surmounted by limestone. In 
many places only one of these rocks exists, the others being 
below the deepest valleys, or have been carried away or de- 
stroyed by some unknown cause. The sandstone is mostly 
pure, and " white as the driven snow" — resembling white 
sugar in appearance, but is occasionally colored by iron 
rust with red, orange, or dark tints : at other times it is 
yellowish, and has been compared to the finer varieties of 
Muscovado sugar. These colors are frequently arranged 
in stripes or bands. It is soft and easily crumbles — so soft, 
says Featherstonhaugh, that the swallows, in great num- 
bers, have been able to pick holes in it, on the Wisconsin 
river, to build their nests. The grains appear to be per- 
fect quartz crystals, and not beach sand smoothed and 
ground by the action of water and then hardened into rock. 
This pure sand must ere long become the material for the 
manufacture of glass. The sandstone is sixty feet in thick- 
ness at the Falls of St. Anthony, and about the same at 
Prairie du Chien ; but along the Wisconsin Hills it attains 
a thickness of over two hundred feet. The cliffs along the 
Mississippi, for a distance of thirty-five miles below the 
Falls of St. Anthony, appear to be composed chiefly of 
this crumbling sandstone. Large blocks are occasionally 
undermined and fall down, lying in confused heaps at the 
base of the bluffs. The rivers running through the district 
where this sandstone prevails, are characterized by shallow 
water, filled with moving sand, forming bars, that are con- 
stantly carried away from some points, and accumulated at 
others, rendering the navigation difficult. By far the larger 
proportion of the river bluffs along the Mississippi are cal- 
careous, and present high perpendicular rocky fronts towards 
the river, supported by immense quantities of broken frag- 
ments at the base, extending usually half way to the sum- 
mit. They are said to attain their greatest elevation in the 
vicinity of Lake Pepin. The limestone which lies above 



56 GEOLOGY— MINERAL DISTRICT. 

the sandstone in Wisconsin, was found by Dr. Locke to be 
the same that he had described in Ohio as the " blue lime- 
stone," and which constitutes the hills surrounding the city 
of Cincinnati. Jt is considered by most geologists as the 
equivalent of the " Trenton limestone " of the New York 
geologists ; but Mr. Hall thinks it belongs to a more recent 
period. All the rocks of this district are referable to the 
" Champlain division," which is the first or oldest of the 
transition rocks in the United States. 

III. The third Geological district is that known (and 
very properly) as the " Mineral country," the word mine- 
ral being used here to denote an ore of some useful metal. 
The lead-bearing rock is a loose, porous, yellowish lime- 
stone, resting upon the " blue limestone," and is deemed 
equivalent to the " cliff limestone " of Dr. Locke of Ohio, 
and the " Niagara limestone " of the New York geologists. 
It is therefore the Geodiferous limestone of the late Prof. 
Eaton, a name which ought to be restored, as having been 
first applied to this rock, and being at least as free from ob- 
jections as either of the others. Above the geodiferous or 
lead-bearino- rock, we find in this district the cornitiferous 
rock of Eaton, constituting the " mounds," throughout the 
mineral district, and known by the quantities of chert or 
flint, or " quartz formation," which it contains. The boun- 
daries of this district, according to Dr. Owen, run nearly 
parallel with, and a few miles south of Wisconsin, from the 
Mississippi to the Blue Mounds, and thence down the Su- 
gar river nearly to the south line of the Territory, where 
it diverges suddenly to the west and crosses that line near 
the Peckatonica. It embraces about sixty-two townships, 
constituting by far the larger proportion of the lead district 
of the Upper Mississippi ; as the extent of country from 
which this mineral is obtained in Illinois is only ten town- 
ships, and in Iowa Territory only eight. The surface rock 
in this district being limestone, and the face of the country 
not being mountainous, as is usually the case in mining 



GEOLOGY MINERAL DISTRICT. 57 

countries, we find that the lands about our lead mines are 
as valuable for agricultural purposes as almost any other in 
the west, thus affording this district advantages not to be 
found in combination elsewhere ; for, except in this case, 
the country which is valuable for its mines, is good for no- 
thing in the eyes of an agriculturist. The theoretical ge- 
ologist will find a hard problem to solve in his endeavor to 
account for the almost total absence of those boulders of 
primitive rock in the mineral district, which are so abun- 
dant elsewhere in the Territory. 

In Silliman's Journal of Science and Arts for July, 1S42, 
is an article by James P. Hodge, " on the Wisconsin and 
Missouri Lead Region," which contains the most correct 
account that has recently been published of the manner in 
which the lead fs found in the rock ; the general character 
of the mineral country, &c. ; it is therefore hoped that no 
apology is necessary for introducing here the following ex- 
tract : 

" Though the c cliff' (Geodiferous) limestone, the forma- 
tion that contains the lead ore, occupies a greater extent of 
country, it is in this portion only that circumstances seem 
to have been favorable for the production of fissures con- 
taining the ore. Its strata appear uniformly horizontal, 
until, by tracing them some miles, a prevailing dip to the 
south is discovered. The lead region is a rolling, hilly 
country, the hills sometimes covered with an open growth 
of oak, but as often entirely free from timber, and clothed 
with the tall prairie grass only. The summits maintain a 
general level, except where it is broken by the i natural 
mounds ' (the two Blue Mounds, the Platte Mounds, Sin- 
sinawa Mounds, &c), which rise several hundred feet 
above it. In these the limestone appears more siliceous 
than is noticed elsewhere, and its superior hardness may in 
part have been the cause of these mounds remaining like 
monuments of the devastating currents that must have 
given the surface around its present form ; while the huge 



58 GEOLOGY MINERAL DISTRICT. 

blocks, tipped out of their horizontal position, lie on the 
steep sides, as additional evidence of the wasting waters. 

" Throughout the extensive tract defined as the lead re» 
gion, lead ore may be sought for with prospect of success,, 
on every township, and on almost every square mile. And,, 
fortunately, it is so well watered, and the little streams 
have so rapid a fall, that power for furnaces may almost 
always be obtained near the mines. New discoveries are 
continually made, and with every one, further light is thrown 
upon the true character of the ranges of fissures contain- 
ing the lead and copper ores, by which results they can 
be traced with greater certainty from one tract to another., 
without depending entirely on the present imperfect mode 
of * prospecting.' 

" Beneath the cliff limestone is a thin stratum of blue 
limestone, and this rests on a body of brown sandstone. 
As one goes from the southern townships of Wisconsin. 
towards the north, this blue limestone is observed to be- 
come higher and higher in the hills, and the lead diggings 
to be everywhere above it. Though the sandstone rocks 
come out in bold bluffs on the sides of the hills, no veins of 
ore are ever found in them ; but in the cliff limestone above, 
they are found, though the rock and its fissures lie hid un- 
der a great depth of soil. 

u These fissures are of every degree of width, from fifty 
feet down to thin cracks ; all of them do not contain ore ; 
the large chambers, when they have any mineral in them ? 
are lined on the walls with a coating of lead ore, seldom 
over a foot thick, while the interior is filled with clay. 
Sometimes across the crevices run horizontal layers of ga- 
lena ; and again it occurs 'in loose ' chunks ' in the clay of 
the fissures, or of the soil above, and again it runs in a ver- 
tical sheet down, or still again filling narrow fissures in the 
appearance of a vein and of a bed in the solid rock. But 
lead is not the only ore these fissures contain. Mixed with 
it in every proportion, and even sometimes getting the bet- 



GEOLOGY MINERAL DISTRICT. 59 

ter of the galena, and shutting it out completely, occur 
both the carbonate and sulphuret of zinc ; the one known 
to the miner by the name of i dry bone,' the other ' black 
Jack.' From the abundance of the carbonate of zinc, and 
its being an ore that, when clear, yields about sixty per 
cent, of the oxide, it seems probable that it will some time 
become an object of importance ; now it is considered a 
great obstruction whenever met with, and the galena, when 
mixed with much of the zinc ore, brings an inferior price. 
" The direction of the fissures downwards is as variable 
as their size and shape. They run like cracks through a 
rock — sometimes vertically, sometimes inclined, and some- 
times horizontally between the strata. But in all cases on 
reaching the sandstone, they are, as far as is yet known, 
unproductive. They are found when they are followed to 
yield three inches of galena, that being the least vein it is 
thought worth while to pursue through rock. ^;id it is very 
rare indeed that a continuous vein is found exceeding one 
foot in thickness. The horizontal direction of fissures is 
more uniform ; those producing the most ore almost uni- 
versally running nearly east and west. Near Mineral Point 
some fissures running north and south produce good ore, 
but they are for the most part horizontal beds (of limited 
width) between the strata, and out of these directions it is 
rare to find a productive fissure. The smelters think the}* - 
can distinguish the ores that are found in different fissures — 
that from an east and west fissure being perfectly crystal- 
lized, of a smooth surface, stria? indistinct ; that from a north 
and south fissure, of crystalline structure, with two sets of 
strise very distinct, crossing each other at right angles ; and 
the ore from a quartering fissure crystalline with many sets 
of strise crossing each other obliquely ; and to some extent 
1 had an opportunity of proving their observations correct. 
The fissures appear to be limited in length to within a few 
hundred feet, and to lie in ranges, which extend at right 
angles with the direction of the fissures. In the neighbor- 



60 GEOLOGY— MINERAL DISTRICT. 

hood of Mineral Point, many of these fissures are opened 
and mined, and the l diggings' are seen to extend, with little 
irregularity, in a north and south belt, that part to the west 
producing lead ore ; half a mile to the east the fissures con- 
taining copper ore, and still further east, a mile or more, 
hematite iron ore abounds in them. 

" The deepest shafts that have been sunk in these fis- 
sures, are about ninety feet ; and at Mineral Point they 
may be worked to that depth without the water being trou- 
blesome. But as these deep shafts are sunk on the highest 
ground, the bottom of them hardly reaches the sandstone. 

" The copper ore is similarly situated to the lead ores, 
either in wide fissures or in thin veins running through the 
rock. As many as four of the little veins, not exceeding 
two inches in thickness, have been found running east and 
west on different parts of the mining ground. The ore in 
these is a mixture of the sulphuret and carbonate. Besides 
these, which are not considered important, there is a large 
fissure, in places fourteen feet wide, that has been traced 
about a quarter of a mile. It is on the old Ansley tract, 
and extends in a westerly direction towards Mineral Point. 
For about the depth of fifteen feet, the fissure was found to 
be filled with an iron ochreous substance named ' gossan,' 
and lumps of sulphuret and carbonate of copper mixed in 
it. Below this depth is clay, with a little ore scattered 
through it. The lumps above were of all sizes, up to two 
hundred pounds weight. No shafts were ever sunk to 
prove this fissure at greater depths ; but there is every rea- 
son to suppose that it will be found productive in other 
parts, besides the strip near the surface. The little rock 
veins prove that the ore belongs to the formation as much 
as the lead ores, and in whatever way it may have been 
brought up from below, it is likely to have formed other 
deposits in the fissure worth looking after. 

" It is difficult to form any correct judgment concerning 
the per centage of these ores, particularly the gossan, for 



GEOLOGY LIMESTONE DISTRICT. 61 

they are continually changing their relative proportions of 
copper, iron and clay, so that a few analyses would not 
decide the matter. According to the report of Dr. Owen, 
three average specimens of the lump ore yielded respect- 
ively, 23, 24£, and 35.7 per cent, of copper ; and in the 
same report, he says that the gossan yields, by analysis, 
from six to nine per cent, of pure copper. 

" Other discoveries of copper ore have been made in the 
Territory, though none of them have yet been proved im- 
portant. I saw ore of good quality from the Blue river 
country, and visited a mine, a thin rock vein, near the 
Peckatonica, about five miles north of the Illinois line. In 
this neighborhood I discovered some fine clay, apparently 
of excellent quality, which may be of no little importance 
in making fire brick for linings for the furnace? It is an 
alluvial bed, six feet thick, at Winslow, on the Peckatonica, 
where it crosses the State line." 

IV. The next and last Geological district, into which 
this Territory may be naturally divided, should be called 
the Limestone District, as it is composed almost exclusively 
of limestone rock, and extends from Lake Michigan west, 
to the other districts mentioned. This same great deposit 
of calcareous rock extends south into Illinois, where it dips 
under the rocks of the " coal formation," and north it con- 
tinues along the lake shore as far as Mackina. It generally 
occurs in thin, compact layers or strata, disposed horizon- 
tally, or nearly so, of a light grey color, and affording very 
pure lime when burned. At other places it is of a dirty 
yellow color, filled with minute pores, and easily decom- 
posed, when exposed to the air and weather. It is very 
sparingly supplied with organic remains or petrifactions, but 
such as are found, indicate this deposit" to be the " carboni- 
ferous limestone" of the older geologists,* which forms the 

* It is probable that this great limestone deposit will be found, 
upon further examination, to belong to different formations or eras ; 
all, however, below, or older than the coal measures. 



62 GEOLOGY LIMESTONE DISTRICT. 

basis on which rests the coal-bearing rocks. It appears 
then, from these facts, that we may not hope to add coal to 
the other sources of mineral wealth with which a kind Pro- 
vidence has so abundantly supplied us. There appears to 
be a tendency in this rock to assume the form of irregular 
and moderately elevated ridges extending throughout its 
whole length, in a general northeast and southwest direc- 
tion, or parallel to all the geological formations of the west- 
ern country. It contains disseminated masses of sulphuret 
of zinc, and iron pyrites — the latter at some places in great 
abundance. Cavities are also found filled with bitumen, 
resembling the petroleum or Seneca oil ; but there are no 
localities known from which this substance can be obtained 
in any considerable quantities. It contains also some beds 
of gypsum., or plaster of Paris, which upon further explor- 
ation, it is believed, may prove to be valuable. It is often 
reported that water limestone exists in Wisconsin, but the 
truth of such reports is not yet known. The horizontal 
layers afford an excellent building material, and would 
answer admirably for pavements, hearth-stones, &c. &c. It 
occasionally is found with sufficient firmness of texture to 
receive a high polish ; and is then called marble. There 
are occasionally some indications of copper ore in this lime- 
stone, but not sufficient to induce the belief that it may 
exist in such abundance as to be of economical value. 

Governor Dodge, in his message to the legislature, in 
December, 1840, recommended that measures be taken to 
procure a geological survey of the Territory, and a bill was 
introduced I / Mr. Janes, but was postponed, on account, 
mainly, of the great expense which it would require at a 
time when the resources of the Territory were extremely 
limited. It is believed, however, that this very desirable 
work may be accomplished, by the employment of only one 
geologist, and allowing ample time for its completion ; thus 
making the annual expense so small as to be entirely within 
the means of the Territory. In this way, the most impor- 



MINERALOGY. 63 

tant localities being first examined, the whole may be ac- 
complished in a few years, and a very great amount of use- 
ful information collected relative to the hidden riches of our 
soil. 

The following is an enumeration of the minerals hereto- 
fore found in this Territory, so far as they are known to the 
author ; but it undoubtedly falls very far short of the actual 
number. So large a portion of our Territory has never 
been visited by any mineralogist, that we may not be sur- 
prised to learn hereafter of the existence of many rare and 
valuable minerals not now known to exist here. 

Sulphuretted Hydrogen. — Several sulphur springs 
have been noted by the surveyors of the public lands, 
which are probably springs whose waters are impregnated 
with this gas. 

Bitumen occurs in small cavities in the limestone along 
the shore of Lake Michigan, both liquid and solid. The 
liquid variety, known as petroleum, or Seneca oil, has not, 
however, been found in sufficient quantity to be collected 
for medicinal purposes. It appears to result from the ani- 
mal matter of the petrifactions found in the rock. 

Graphite, or black lead, was found by Schoolcraft, at 
the Grand Portage, on the St. Louis river. It was, how- 
ever, of inferior quality : it formed a vein between the ver- 
tical layers of argillite. 

Coal. — Small fragments of coal, associated with bitu- 
minous shale, or coal slate, have been found on the shore 
of Lake Michigan, at Milwaukee and elsewhere ; and 
some indications of coal are said to exist in the vicinity of 
Lake Winnebago. The rocks in Wisconsin, so far as they 
have been examined, prove (as before mentioned) to be 
older than the coal formation, and lie below it ; conse- 
quently it would be useless to search for coal in these 
rocks. 

Peat is found in great abundance, in bogs throughout 
the Territory. It is occasionally used for fuel here, by 



64 MINERALOGY. 

persons who have been accustomed to its use in other 
countries. 

Common Salt. — But few indications of salt have yet 
been discovered. The surveyors have noted " salt licks " 
at some places, but they have led to no important results. 
In Long's expedition, we have an account of a salt district 
near the northwest corner of this Territory, and the coun- 
try adjacent. " There are doubtless, in this country, a 
o-reat many salt springs, especially below the Red Fork ; 
we saw none, but we were informed that fine springs ex- 
isted on Big and Little Saline rivers, on the l Two Rivers,' 
fee, where the salt is found in white efflorescences, so as 
to be annually collected there by the colonists of Pembina ; 
notwithstanding which, at that settlement the price of this 
article is from four to six dollars per barrel, weighing eighty 
pounds. One of the residents on this river cleared five 
hundred dollars in one winter, by the salt which he col- 
lected. Probably by boring to a small depth, abundant 
springs would be obtained." In this remote region, how- 
ever, salt would possess little value, beyond what is ne- 
cessary to supply the inhabitants in its immediate vicinity ; 
especially as no direct communication by navigable rivers 
exists between that country and the great markets of the 

world. 

Sulphate of Barytes, or Heavy Spar, is said to occur 
in narrow seams in boulders or fragments of limestone on 
the Wisconsin river. 

Calcareous spar is abundant at the lead mines, where 
it is called "Tiff." It occurs in the limestone on the 
Neenah, and various other places ; also at the Grand Por- 
tage, on the St. Louis river, in perfectly transparent rhombs, 
exhibiting the phenomenon of double refraction. 

Marble, or limestone having the requisite qualities for 
being polished, and hence useful for many kinds of orna- 
mental work, is found in various places. Very beautiful 
^rave-stones are manufactured from stone quarried in the 



MINERALOGY. 65 

town of Genesee, in Milwaukee county. The a blue lime- 
stone," in some places, makes a ? ::ful mar": 
shells and corals giving it a peculiarly fine character — hence 
called " shell marble." 

Stal totes are found in . . near Du- 

buque, or. pi river. 

Calcareous Tufa, incj _ . near 

.-, on the canal ; in the gorge be'. 

1 pro- 
bably at many oth-L . 

L — In the soil alone the 

shore of Lake Superior, between the Montreal river and La 

. or plaster of Paris, is found in small ma— 
the sand rock on 1. Saj -rior ; and a. 

Bay. in Brown coul 

that beds of sufficient extent to be of workable value :. _ 
by pr: orations by competent per- :bund. 

It has quite pu. 

: sion- 
[n the 
u mineral count] I in mamillary 

form. It is here called "leadbloss 

ions of the ex ral of the 

numer: ooticed — ; 

pi; radi: i . :. 

on Lake Pepin ; granular :. . 

: . . r^nd on th 

ndant 

at the Blue Mounds, and othei in the lead mine re- 

:: the shore of :r. on the 

ssippi, &c., &c. ; e the pebbles 

on the margin about 

Pepin, &c j Jasper is d 
also .- wood, on thi 

4* 



66 MINERALOGY, 

Hornblende is common in the primitive rocks, and in 
boulders scattered over the transition country. 

Garnets are occasionally found in the primitive dis- 
trict. 

Feldspar, being one of the constituent minerals of gra- 
nite, hornblende rock, &c, is found almost everywhere in 
the Territory. 

Tourmaline, on an island in Little Sturgeon Lake, near 
the northwest part of the Territory, in granite rock. It is 
in beautiful crystals, intensely black, and about an inch 
long. Also at the outlet of Lac de Flambeau, and various 
other places in detached rocks or boulders. 

Kyanite, in the primitive rocks at the outlet of Lac de 
Flambeau, or Torch Lake. 

Mica is one of the essential constituents of granite and 
mica slate, which are abundant throughout the Territory? 
either in situ or in boulders. 

Bituminous Shale, in fragments, accompanying coal, on 
the shore of Lake Michigan. 

Red Piperstone (or Catlinite) similar to that from the 
Coteau de Prairie, is found on the banks of Otter Lake, 
near the source of the Mauvaise river. This stone is soft 
and easily cut when first taken from the quarries, but soon 
becomes hard, and receives a fine polish when exposed to 
the air. It is much used by the Indians in making tobacco 
pipes and various ornaments. 

Clay is very common, but none has been discovered 
suitable for porcelain or the finer wares. It is much used 
in the manufacture of brick, and the coarser kinds of pot- 
tery. It is often so filled with pebbles of limestone as to 
render it unfit for brick, as these expand when brought into 
contact with water after being burned, and burst the brick 
into fragments. The brick have a light yellow r ish-grey 
color, and buildings made from them have a fine appear- 
ance without the addition of paint. 

Magnetic Oxide of Iron.— A boulder, consisting al- 



MINERALOGY. 67 

most entirely of this ore, has been found near Milwaukee $ 
it had been cracked and broken by the action of the weather. 
The black sand so abundant on the shores of all the Great 
Lakes, is the magnetic iron ore reduced to powder, or sand, 
by the action of the waves. Near Sheboygan, and at vari- 
ous other points, it exists in large quantities ; and the peo- 
ple of Milwaukee supply themselves with this article from 
the lake shore in the vicinity of the town. Near the mouth 
of the Bois Brule river, on Lake Superior, we are informed 
by Mr. Schoolcraft, that there is a layer a foot in thickness, 
extending along the shore of the lake some distance. This 
sand is thrown upon the beach by the force of the waves, 
especially during heavy storms of wind, and its great spe- 
cific gravity prevents its being carried back by the dimin- 
ished force of the returning waves. 

According to Mr. Bronson, there are near the Black 
River Falls " several natural mounds from one hundred to 
three hundred feet high, apparently composed entirely of 
iron stone ore." As to the mineral character and econo- 
mical value of this ore, that appears to exist here in such 
abundance, we are not informed. 

Limonite, or brown hematite iron ore, is found a mile o r 
more east from Mineral Point, associated with copper ore. 
Fragments of this ore have also been found on the ridges 
near Rock river, and on Sugar river, in Green county, but 
nothing is known of the quantity of ore to be found at these 
places. 

Iron Pyrites, or sulphuret of iron, is found abundantly 
in the limestone, along the shore of Lake Michigan, and in 
rolled masses on the beach. Fine specimens are dug from 
the hard blue and yellow clay forming the lake shore at 
Milwaukee. It is associated with the copper ore at Mine- 
ral Point, in considerable quantities. The people of Wis- 
consin, like those of many other countries, have been de- 
ceived by the bright golden, or bronze yellow color of this 
almost worthless mineral into the belief that they had made 



68 MINERALOGY, 

a valuable discovery. It is used in the manufacture of cop- 
peras and sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol), and may be found 
here in sufficient quantities to be of value for these pur- 
poses. 

Zinc Blende, or sulphuret of zinc, has been found in 
small masses, disseminated through limestone, at Milwau- 
kee, and on the Neenah river. It is found abundantly in 
the mineral country, associated with the lead ore, in such 
quantities, in some instances, and so intimately blended with 
the lead as to materially injure its quality and value. It is 
called " black Jack," by the miners. 

Carbonate of Zinc is also found associated in the same 
way with the lead in the mineral country, and is there known 
by the significant name of "dry bone." Furnaces have 
been recently erected by some enterprising individuals for 
the purpose of reducing this ore of zinc, and from its abun- 
dance in the mineral country we may anticipate much from 
this new source of wealth in Wisconsin. 

Galena, or sulphuret of lead, exists in immense quanti- 
ties in fissures in the " geodiferous limestone," in the coun- 
ties of Grant, Iowa, Dane and Green. It is stated that 
about 798,000 pigs (of 70 pounds each), or 55,860,000 
pounds of lead were shipped, during the year 1845, from 
Galena. 

Carbonate of Lead, called " white mineral," is found 
at the Blue Mounds, and some other places among the 
mines. It is not found in sufficient quantities to be worked 
as an ore of lead. 

Native Copper.— -Fragments of native (or pure) cop- 
per have been often found in various parts of the Territo- 
ry. A mass weighing over one hundred pounds is said to 
have been found at Green Bay. Mr. C. Trowbridge found 
on his farm, near Milwaukee, a piece weighing thirty 
pounds. Three specimens were found in excavating the 
canal in Milwaukee, in a gravel bank some ten or twelve 
feet below the surface of the ground, which together 



MINERALOGY. 69 

weighed about twenty pounds. One of these is now safely 
deposited in the Cabinet of Yale College, at New Haven. 
Numerous smaller specimens are occasionally found at Mil- 
waukee, Racine, and other places. On the Mississippi they 
have been found as far up as the Falls of St. Anthony, and 
a mass is said to exist a little west of Lac Vieux Deserte, 
far exceeding, in magnitude, the celebrated "copper rock" 
from the Ontonagon. These fragments of copper have 
evidently been transported from their native beds, probably 
at Lake Superior, with the boulders of primitive and trap- 
pean rocks, and by the same cause. They are, therefore, 
not to be regarded as indicating the existence of copper 
mines where they may happen to be found. The native 
copper of Lake Superior, mostly within the limits of Mi- 
chigan, is found in veins traversing trap, and the overlying 
conglomerates and sandstone rocks — and as the trap dykes 
are known to extend south into Wisconsin, we may expect 
to find similar veins. During the past year (1845), some 
valuable discoveries, it is said, have been made near the 
sources of the Montreal river of Green Bay. 

Sulphuret or Copper, and Carbonate of Copper. — 
These varieties are associated to constitute the copper ore 
found in a vein or fissure in the vicinity of Mineral Point, 
which is a mile or more in length, and at other places in 
the mineral country. This ore is accompanied by lead and 
iron pyrites. After many years' trial the proprietors of 
these mines have discovered a simple method of reducing 
these ores, and a large amount of copper is now annually pro- 
duced from them. Much of this finds its way to Milwau- 
kee, and is thence sent down the lakes to New York. Re- 
cently these ores have been discovered on the Eickapoo 
and Barraboo rivers north of the Wisconsin ; but the ex- 
tent and value of the veins have not yet been ascertained. 

Silver is found in minute proportion combined with the 
lead ore, so minute that it cannot be worked with advan- 
tage. Native silver is found associated with the copper at 



70 NATURAL HISTORY. 

Eagle river, and it is also said to have been discovered in 
the vicinity of La Pointe, on Lake Superior. 

For the scientific naturalist, the sportsman and the angler, 
Wisconsin affords a very interesting and highly attractive 
field, A large proportion of the quadrupeds of the United 
States have been found within her limits, and hence it 
would be easier to enumerate what are not found here, than 
to make a list of those that are. Of all the other classes 
of animals we have our due proportion. Several species of 
animals have already been compelled to leave Wisconsin by 
the approach of civilized men ; and others are driven into 
the remote, unsettled portions, where they are probably 
destined to remain but a short time before they will, from 
the same cause, have to retire still further towards the il far 
west." The industrious beaver has left traces of its for- 
mer existence on nearly every small brook ; and horns of 
the elk are still occasionally found scattered over the prai- 
ries. The buffalo has but recently been driven beyond the 
Mississippi. As yet no bones or teeth of the extinct mam- 
moth or mastodon have been discovered in Wisconsin. In 
the remote parts of the country, about the source of the 
Mississippi, and west of Lake Superior, several species have 
been found that are not found in the southern parts of the 
Territory. Among those occasionally seen are, according 
to Mr. Schoolcraft, the great white or polar bear, the arctic 
fox, with fur as white as the snow in which it lives ; and 
also the moose, rein-deer and the antelope. The great 
white or northern owl, and three species of grouse, are 
found there,* different from the two that are so abundant in 
the woods and about the prairies at the south. f A great 
many species of ducks and other aquatic birds swarm our 

-Tetrao Canadensis, Linn., spotted grouse. 

phasianellus, Linn., sharp-tailed grouse. 

saliceti, Temm. (T. albus Gmel.), willow grouse, or 
white partridge, 
t The pheasant and prairie hen (T. umbellus and T. cupido). 



BOTANY. '71 

lakes and rivers. Pelicans occasionally ascend the Missis- 
sippi and its branches far into Wisconsin. Pigeons are 
abundant ; quails, and a great variety of smaller birds, both 
useful and injurious to the interests of man, are found. 

We have our due proportion of reptiles — lizards, turtles, 
frogs, snakes, &c. The rattlesnake is the only poisonous 
species. 

Among the fish afforded by our lakes and rivers are white- 
fish, salmon, sturgeon, perch, bass, suckers, herring, pick- 
erel or muskellonge, trout, catfish, sheep's head, lawyers, 
and many others, nearly all valuable as articles of food for 
man. They are caught in large quantities, and some are 
exported. The Indians at the north, where game is scarce 
and where agriculture has not yet been introduced, live al- 
most exclusively upon fish, which are caught in vast quan- 
tities at the mouths of the rivers. The excellent qualities 
of these fish for the table are too well known to need de- 
scription here. 

Wisconsin abounds in plants of an interesting and useful 
character, embracing all varieties, from the stately pine 
tree, towering its head above the other trees of the forest, 
to the humblest " wild wood flower." The broad prairies 
are covered with a profusion of flowers of every form and 
hue — which are changed with every change of season. 
The eastern portion of the Territory abounds in " hard 
wood" timber — the northern, in forests of pine, and the 
central and western portions are comparatively destitute of 
trees. Here, however, are generally found a few trees, 
constituting the " oak openings," and affording sufficient 
wood and timber for the purposes of the first settlers. 

The following is a list of plants which have not before 
been noticed as indigenous to Wisconsin. It exhibits the 
scientific name, its author, the common name (if there is 
any), and the locality at which the plant was found. 

Ranunculus acris, Linn., Butter cup (introduced). 

Actffia rubra, Big.» Red cohosh, 



72 



BOTANY. 



Polanisia graveolens, Raf., 
Polygala incarnata, L., 
" verticillata, L,, 
Elodea Virginica, Nutt., 
Arenaria serpyllifolia, L., 
Stellaria media, Smith, 
Oxalis violacea, L., 
Negundo aceroides, Mcench., 

Staphylea trifolia, L., 
Amorpha fruticosa, L., 
Lespedeza violacea, Pers., 
(Enothera chrysantha, Mx.j 
Ludwigia palustris, Ell., 
Hippurus vulgaris, L-, 
Poly tenia Nuttallii, D. Cand., 
Cornus alternifolia, L., 

" stolonifera, Mx., 

" sericea, L., 
Lonicera ccerulea, L., 
Viburnum lentago, L., 
Cephalanthus occidentalis, L., 
Kuhnea eupatorioides, L., 
Aster multifiorus, Ait.. 

" miser, L., 
" prsealtus, Poir., 
" prenanthoides, MuhL, 
Solidago patula, Muhl., 
n arguta, Ait., 
« ulmifolia, Muhl.; 
" nemoralis, Ait., 
Silphium perfoliatum, L,, 
" trifoliatum, L., 
Echinacea angustifolia, D. Cand., 
Helianthus rigidus, Desf., 
Coreopsis trichosperma, Mx., 
Artemesia biennis, Willd., 



Beloit, Rock county. 

do. do. 

Lisbon. 
Milwaukee. 
Prairieville. 
ChicJcweed (introduced). 
Rock county. 
Box elder, Rock river and Sugar 

river. 
Bladder nut, Rock county. 
Beloit. 

Prairieville and Beloit. 
Prairieville. 
Root river. 
Mare's tail, Milwaukee. 

Prairieville. 
Yellow-twigged dog-tvood, Mil- 
waukee to Sheboygan. 
Red-twigged dog-wood, Milwau- 
kee. 
Milwaukee, 
do. 
do. 
Button bush, Milwaukee. 
Greenfield. 

Milwaukee to Rock ri- 
ver. 
Milwaukee, 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
Cup plant, Prairieville, 
do. 
Rock county. 
Prairieville. 
Milwaukee, 
do. 



BOTANY. 



73 



Cacalia suaveolens, L., 
" reniformis, Mx., 
Cirsium pumihim, Spreng., 
Hieracium scabrum, Mx., 
Nabalus virgatus, D. Cand., 

" racemosus, Hook, 
Andromedia polyfolia, L., 

" calyculata, L., 

Chimaphylla umbellata, 

Pyrola elliptica, Nutt., 

" chlorantha, Swartz, 
Apocynum hyperici folium, Ait.. 

Aceratus lanceolata, Ives, 
(n. 6p.), 

Gentiana delonsa, Griseb., 
Phlox revoluta, Eaton, 
Pulmonaria Virginica, L„ 
Hydrophyllum appendiculatum, 

Ait, 
Lycopus sinuatus, Ell., 
Gerardia purpurea, L., 
Verbena angustifolia, L., 
Utricularia minor, Willd., 
Euphorbia maculata, L., 
Salix Candida, Willd., 

" Muhlenbergiana, Willd., 

« discolor, Willd., 

" recurvata, Ph., 
Quercus bicolor, Willd., 

" palustris, Mx., 
Populus lsovigatus, Ait,, 
Callitriche vernalis, L., 
Pontedera cordata, L., 
Habenaria leucophea, Nutt. , 
Trillium sessile, L., 

" recurvata, Beck, 



Milwaukee. 

do. 
Prairieville. 
Milwaukee. 

Pewaukee. 

Muskego, also in Jeffer- 
son county. 

Muskego. 

Saukville, Washington 
county. 
Shin leaf, Milwaukee, 
do. 

Milwaukee and Racine 
counties. 

Greenfield. 

Mequanigo and Prairie- 
ville. 

Milwaukee. 

Rochester, Racine cc 
Lungwort, Beloit. 

Water leaf, Beloit. 

Prairieville. 
do. 
Bladder wort, Milwaukee. 
Spotted spurge, do. 



Common uilloiv. 

Swamp white oak, Milwaukee. 
Pin oak, do. 

here called " Balm of Gilead." 
Chickweed, Milwaukee. 
Pickerel -weed, Salem, Racine co 

Brookfield. 

Wawatosa. 

Greenfield. 



74 BOTANY. 

Juncus Balticus, Willd., Milwaukee. 

" acuminatus, Mx., do. 
Smilax rotundifolia, L., Green brier, do. 

Potamogeton perfoliatus, L., do. river. 

Scheuchzeria palustris, L., Gold Lake. 

Dulichium spathaceum, Pers., Brookfield. 

Cyperus strigosus, L., Milwaukee. 

Eliocharis acicularis, Brown, do. 

Scirpus maritimus, L., do. 

" eriophorum, Mx., do. 
Eriophorum angustifolium, Rich- 
ardson, do. 
Eriophorum vaginatum, L., Muskego. 
Carex paniculata, L., Milwaukee. 

" bromoides, Schk., Greenfield. 

" pubescens, Muhl., Wawatosa. 

" inturhescens, Rudge, Milwaukee, 

" lupulina, Muhl., do. 

" oligosperma, Mx., Muskego and Warren. 

[The Carices are found in the wet, natural meadows, in 
great abundance, and are annually cut by the farmers for 
hay. They are thus highly important aids in the settle- 
ment of a new country, by enabling the early inhabitants to 
support their teams and stock before an artificial meadow 
can be prepared. Many of these natural meadows are oc- 
casioned by the dams of the beaver, still visible in every 
part of the Territory ] 

Atheropogon apludoides, Muhl., Prairieville. 

Aspidium Gouldiana, Hook, 
Osmunda regalis, L., Summit, also in Racine 

county. 
The number of plants that have been detected and examined 

in the County of Milwaukee, without including mosses, 

and the lower orders of Cryptogamige, is 694 

In adjoining counties, &c, besides the above, 97 

In northern Wisconsin, besides the above (collected by Dr. 

Houghton and others), 82 

Total number of species already detected, 873 



CLIMATE. 75 

But as much of the county has not been visited by any 
botanist, we may fairly presume that this is far from being 
the actual number, and that Wisconsin is as rich in plants 
as other States in the same latitude. 

From the observations made at the military posts within 
the Territory, we are able to form a pretty correct estimate 
of the climate of Wisconsin ; and by comparison with the 
observations reported to the Regents of the University of 
the State of New York, we find a remarkable similarity 
between the climate of Wisconsin and that of the interior 
and western counties of that State. But as two of these 
military stations are much north of the most populous por- 
tions of Wisconsin, it is evident that the southern portions 
must have a climate rather warmer than New York ; and 
this accords with the first impressions of most persons of in- 
telligence and observation, who have had the opportunity of 
direct comparison. One person remarks that he passed the 
23d, 24th, and 25th of June in the heart of the far famed 
Genesee country, and then not one of the farmers in a 
dozen had hoed his corn for the first time. On the third 
of July, he landed at Milwaukee, and along the road west 
from that place, corn was about " tasselling out," and was 
at least five weeks in advance of the same crop in western 
New York. Persons, therefore, who are familiar with the 
climate of New York, may form a pretty correct judgment 
of that of Wisconsin. 

Our winters, usually long and severe, are occasionally 
mild and almost entirely without snow. The ground is 
frozen to a great depth, and the rivers and lakes are bridged 
over with solid ice. But usually snow falls in December 
and continues until March. The " January thaw" often 
carries off the snow, and occasionally dissolves the ice in 
the rivers. The winter of 1842-3 was distinguished by 
the unusual quantity of snow, ana* the great length of time 
it remained on the ground. Sleighing commenced about 
the tenth of November, and continued until about the same 
time in April, being five months. 



76 CLIMATE. 

The following table, showing the day when the Mil- 
waukee river was closed with ice each fall, and when the 
ice left in the spring, will serve to show the duration of 
our winters, and how they vary in different years : 
Closed November 20, 1836. Opened April 13, 1837—144 days. 
25, 1837. " March 25, 1838—121 " 

15, 1838. '" " 27, 1839—132 « 

21, 1839. " « 6, 1840—106 " 

17, 1840. « " 24, 1841—127 " 

25,1841. " " 9,1842—104 " 

17, 1842. " April 14, 1843—148 " 

December 1,1843. " March 10, 1844— 100 " 

November 25, 1844. " :: 3, 1845— 98 « 

" 27, 1845. « " 9, 1846—102 « 

Mean, November 22. March 26— 118 » 

The Great Lakes have a very sensible effect upon our 
climate, by equalizing the temperature — making the sum- 
mers less hot and the winters less cold than they would 
otherwise be. Hence the difference between the mean 
temperature of winter and summer at Fort Snelling, on the 
Mississippi river, is about six and a half degrees more than 
at Fort Howard, at the southern extremity of Green Bay ; 
and at this place the influence of the lakes is but partially 
felt. At Prairie du Chien (Fort Crawford) this difference 
is ten degrees more than at Milwaukee, on Lake Michigan, 
in the same latitude. About the same difference is ob- 
served when we compare the mean temperature of winter 
and spring at these places ; the change from winter to spring 
beins: more sudden in the interior than on the lakes. This 
fact is also inferred from the vegetation of spring, for it has 
been ascertained by direct observation, that in the town of 
Lisbon, only fifteen miles from the lake at Milwaukee, the 
early spring flowers show themselves about ten days earlier 
than on the lake. In the spring, vegetation, in places 
remote from the lakes, shoots up in a very short time, and 
flowers begin to show their petals, while on the lake shore the 



CLIMATE. 77 

cool air retards them and brings them more gradually into 
existence. 

Another effect of the lakes is, as perhaps might be ex- 
pected, to create a greater degree of humidity in the atmo- 
sphere, and hence a greater quantity of rain. This is also 
proved by comparing the observations at the two posts above 
referred to ; there being annually about eight and a half 
inches more at Green Bay than on the Mississippi. * It is 
however remarkable, that these lakes do not afford more 
fogs than are found to exist about them. At Milwaukee, 
on the shore of Lake Michigan, not more than three or four 
foggy days occur in a whole year. Fogs are often seen 
lying on the surface of the lake itself, and steamboats and 
other vessels navigating Lake Michigan often experience 
inconvenience from them, but they appear to be dissipated 
upon approaching land. 

More than two hundred days in each year are fair, taking 
one year with another ; and if we add such as are not quite 
"fair," but only partially cloudy, it will be seen that we 
have an atmosphere of great purity and clearness. This is 
also proved by direct observation, for it is remarked by 
strangers that, owing to the clearness of the air, objects can 
be seen at a greater distance than usual, or appear to be 
near at hand, when in fact they are at a considerable dis- 
tance. 

That the citizens of Wisconsin have occasional oppor- 
tunities of witnessing some of the more interesting and 
remarkable phenomena of nature, is shown by the follow- 
ing extract from the Southport Telegraph. 

" Water Spolt. — -The interesting phenomenon of the 
Water Spout was witnessed by quite a number of the 
citizens of this village, on the morning of Sunday, August 

* The small amount of rain at ^Milwaukee, as shown in the follow- 
ing table, would seem not to confirm this statement ; hut the obser- 
vations at that place were but for a limited period, and during 
unusually dry seasons. 



78 CLIMATE, 

20, 1S43. The attention of the beholders was first direct- 
ed to a dense dark cloud hanging over Lake Michigan, 
distant, apparently, some ten or twelve miles in a south- 
erly direction from this place. From this cloud was seen 
converging downwards a thick mass of vapor, trumpet- 
shaped, or in the form of a pyramid reversed ; at the same 
time the surface of the water below appeared greatly agi- 
tated, bubbling, foaming, and rising up in hundreds of little 
sharp pyramids of various heights, until at length an 
aqueous cone rising upward, united with the descending 
one — forming a volume apparently some two hundred feet 
high, and exhibiting the form of two funnels united at the 
little ends ; the point of uniting between the ascending and 
descending cone being much the smallest part of the col- 
umn. In the middle of the column was seen what may 
be termed a transparent tube through which the water 
appeared to rush with a spiral motion, and with a velocity 
truly wonderful. Such was the apparent force and power 
of the current of water rushing through the tube or column, 
that a misty vapor was thrown off at a considerable dis- 
tance around, not unlike such as is seen in the presence of 
huge cataracts. The different shades and colorings re- 
flected by the combination of water and clouds, formed a 
most magnificent and sublime scene in this wonderful 
exhibition of nature. It should be mentioned, that as soon 
as the Water Spout above described had formed, a second 
one made its appearance in the immediate vicinity of the 
first, exhibiting the same process of formation, and in all 
respects similar to the first. A third also commenced its 
formation from the dense cloud above, but failed to unite 
or meet with any column of water from below. The time 
from the first appearance of the Water Spouts we have 
described, to the period of their disappearance, was about 
twenty-five minutes. The wind blew at the same time 
moderately from the N. E., and the temperature of the 
weather was not far from forty-five degrees. The appear- 



CLIMATE. 



79 



ance which we have been imperfectly describing, was not 
only seen on the morning before stated by many persons of 
this village, but also by many individuals residing on the 
lake shore for many miles south of this place." 

The following table exhibits the results of the observa- 
tions made in Wisconsin, as far as they have come to the 
knowledge of the author. 

TABLE OF METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IX 
WISCONSIN. 





... ..Lg i 
in || i 

z % -• I '- '-■ ~ 1 > 


- .1 

^ i- 

43.03 


~ 1 
43.05 




Latitude, . . 


. . . . 44.53 44.40 43.35 


43.03 


Longitude, . . 


. . . 


93.05 87.0i - 


90.52 


88.21 




Elevation above the sea, . . 


780 600 810 


580 


: 


590 


Mean annuahtemperature, . 


45.15 44.60 44.89 47.35 


47.10 


47.37 


Mean temperature 


of Winter, 


17.29 20.24 20.81 20.69 


I' - 


25.70 


(C (C 


Spring, 46.56|43.42|44.67 


48.6048.28 


el cc 


Autumn, 71.16 


- 7" 67.97 72.38 


66.3067.34 


c< cc 


Summer. 45.59 


45.99 46.10 


48.09 


46.60 48.15 


Maximum, 




100 

— 40 


1 
— 32 


99 
— 33 


100 
— 32 


94 


Minimum, . . 




— 12 — 24 


Mean temperature 

CC cc 


of Januan,-, 
February, 


13.5818.14 
18.6620.16 




19.72 
21.93 


33.1 


21.77 


cc cc 


March," 32.12 31.19 




32.48;36.3 35.90 


cc cc 


April, . 146.00 43.2* 




43.92 52.5 


cc cc 


May, . 62.1157.13 




59.45 57.0 57.10 


cc cc 


June, 


70.8368.38 




68.57 63.9 63 80 


cc cc 


July, . 


75.47 72.25 




72.40J71.2 70.20 


cc cc 


August, 


71.98 68.83 




71.41 63.3 


cc cc 


September 


49.41 57.61 




61.50 60.0 63.23 


cc cc 


October, 


49.27 47.51 




45.45 44.8 46 98 


cc cc 

cc cc 


Novembei 33.36 34.29 
December. 15.60 21.00 




33.06 35.0 
18.04 2 2. 7 


34.23 
27.10 


Annual aver, of Rain ( inches), |3 0.3 2 


38.83 


31.88 


29.54 




2796 


Wind, North, . 




36 


^ 




71 


18 


30 


" South, . 


. 


44 


5 




74 


-I 


26 


East, . . 




14 


2 




4 


21 


27 


" West, . 




40 
29 


10 
138 




18 
13 


57 
26 


51 


" Northeast, 




60 


" Northwest 


. 


78 


i 8 




92 


65 


58 


" Southeast, 




49 1 




53 


31 


40 


" Southwest, 


. . . . 


75 


193 




40 


66 


66 



80 GENERAL HEALTH. 

The salubrity of the climate, the purity of the atmo- 
sphere, and of the water, which is usually obtained from 
copious living springs ; the coolness and short duration of 
summer, and the dryness of the air during winter, all 
conspire to render Wisconsin one of the most healthy 
portions of the United States. The wet meadows, marsh- 
es and swamps, are constantly supplied with pure 
water from springs ; and as they are not exposed during 
summer to a burning heat, they do not send forth those 
noxious and deleterious qualities so much dreaded in more 
southern and less favored latitudes. Many of our most 
flourishing towns and settlements are in the immediate vi- 
cinity of large swamps and partially overflown meadows, 
yet no injurious effects upon the general health are pro- 
duced by them. 

It has usually been found, in making new»settlements in 
the western wilderness, that as the forests are cleared away 
and the surface thereby exposed to the direct influence of 
the sun and winds, a deleterious effect is produced on the 
general health— the decaying vegetable matter being thus 
suddenly made to send forth its malarious qualities. But 
in Wisconsin no such result is apprehended, or can be pro- 
duced, for a large proportion of the country consists of oak 
openings and prairie, and may therefore be considered as 
already cleared. The removal of the few remaining " burr 
oaks" cannot have the same effect upon the soil as the 
cutting down of the dense forests of the other States. And 
besides this, the fires that have annually raged over the sur- 
face, often kindled purposely by the Indians, on their hunt- 
ing excursions, have prevented that rapid accumulation of 
vegetable matter which is always found in deep shady- 
woods where the fires do not so often penetrate. 

It is believed that the facts here stated will be sufficient 
to satisfy the reader of the truth of the opinion expressed 
by our most intelligent physicians, that Wisconsin is, and 
will continue to be, one of the most healthy places in the 
world. 



COUNTIES. 81 

The Territory was originally divided into three counties 
—Brown, Iowa and Crawford. 

Brown county included all the country east of a line 
drawn due north and south, through the portage between 
the Wisconsin and Neenah rivers. 

Iowa embraced all west of that line and south of the 
Wisconsin river ; and 

Crawford occupied the remainder, or all west of that line, 
and north of the Wisconsin. 

The county of Milwaukee was separated from Brown, 
and extended to range number nine on the west, and to 
township twelve north. These were the only counties or- 
ganized in 1836, when the Territory was separated from 
Michigan ; but such has since been the rapid settlement 
of the country, that it has been deemed necessary to set 
off new counties at almost every session of the Legislature, 
and the number is now increased to twenty, as follows : 

Lake counties, or those bounded on Lake Michigan — 
Brown, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Washington, Milwaukee 
and Racine. 

Interior eastern counties — Walworth, Rock, Jefferson, 
Dodge, Fond du Lac, Calumet, Winnebago and Mar- 
quette. 

Interior western counties — Richland, Sauk, Portage, 
Dane, Green and Iowa. ■ 

River counties, "or those bounded on the Mississippi — 
Grant, Crawford, St. Croix, Chippewa and La Pointe. 

Besides these counties, the Legislature have now pro- 
vided for the division of the counties of Milwaukee and 
Iowa, should the people by vote sanction the same ; and 
the establishment of the counties of Waukesha, Lafayette 
and Montgomery. 

The counties of Brown, Fond du Lac, Jefferson, Milwau- 
kee, Racine, Rock, Walworth, Dodge, Dane and Washing- 
ton, are governed by what is called the " town system" be- 
ing divided into towns, each having its separate organiza- 
5 



82 BROWN COUNTY. 

tion, and its own officers. The other counties are not di- 
vided into towns, and are under the management of three 
Commissioners, elected annually by the people. 

Having completed the foregoing general observation re- 
lative to the whole Territory, we now propose to give, 
under appropriate heads, a more detailed description of 
the several counties, towns, rivers, lakes, &c, &c. 

BROWN COUNTY 

Is bounded on the north and east by the line between 
Wisconsin and the State of Michigan ; on the south by the 
counties of Manitowoc, Calumet and Winnebago ; and on 
the west by Portage ; or the boundaries may be traced 
more accurately, as follows : beginning on the Neenah river, 
on the line between ranges nine and ten west, on Buffalo 
lake, and running thence north, to the Territorial bounda- 
ry ; thence east and south, along said boundary, to the line 
between townships twenty and twenty-one, extending to the 
middle of Lake Michigan ; thence west to the northwest 
corner of Winnebago county ; thence south to the Neenah ; 
thence up that river to the place of beginning. It is im- 
possible to estimate the area of this county with any de- 
gree of certainty, on account of the territorial line between 
Wisconsin and Michigan not having been finally established, 
and for the want #f an accurate survey of this part of the 
Territory. Brown county was organized by an act of the 
Legislature of Michigan, passed October 16, 1818, and then 
included all the country between Lake Michigan and a line 
drawn due north, and south through the middle of the por- 
tage between the Neenah and Wisconsin rivers. The coun- 
ties of Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Calumet, Fond du Lac, 
Marquette, Washington, Dodge, Milwaukee, Jefferson, Ra- 
cine, Walworth, Rock, and parts of Dane and Portage, 
have been taken from Brown ; and as she is still a large 
county, it is probable that her limits are destined, ere long,. 



BROWN COUNTY. 83 

to be further reduced, before her boundaries are finally es- 
tablished. 

Little is known of the geographical details of the north- 
ern part of this county : it abounds in forests of pine, or 
u pineries," and the streams are full of " falls" and " rap- 
ids," affording an abundance of water power, where this 
pine is now, in large quantities, manufactured into lumber, 
shingles, &c, which find a ready market at Milwaukee, and 
other ports on Lake Michigan. The soil is said to be of 
excellent quality, and is covered with dense forests — no 
openings or prairies being found of any considerable extent 
in the county. A singular feature in the topography of 
the country is indicated by the course of the principal 
streams, which have a general southeasterly direction 
towards Lake Michigan, except the Neenah, which, with 
Green Bay (an enlarged continuation of it), runs at right 
angles to this course, and nearly parallel with the general 
course of the lake. The cause of this feature may be 
found in a rocky ridge extending along the east side of the 
Neenah, giving direction to that river, and " heading'' all 
those that take their rise west of it. This ridge extends 
southwest quite through the Territory, and from it origin- 
ates another system of streams running east or southeast 
into Lake Michigan. 

This peculiarity in the topographical features of the 
country has a very marked effect upon the direction of the 
wind, which usually blows from the northwest at Green 
Bay, as shown by the tables of the weather kept at that 
place. 

The population of Brown county was, in the year 

1830 964 

1836 . 



1838 
1840 . 
1842 . 
Now estimated at 



3,0S4 
2,107 
2,146 



84 BROWN COUNTY. 

The falling off in 1840 was not occasioned so much by 
an actual diminution of population, as by setting off new 
counties from Brown. The county seat was established by 
a vote of the people, at Depere. 

Seven post-offices have been established in Brown coun- 
ty — at Bridgeport, Depere, Duck Creek, Green Bay, Kaka- 
lin, Little Chute and Menomonee. There is one weekly 
newspaper published at Green Bay. 

Agreeably to the United States census of 1840, there 
were then in Brown county 475 horses, 1,053 neat cattle, 

85 sheep, 1,380 swine, 42 groceries and stores, S lumber 
yards, 1 tannery, 3 grist mills, and 25 saw mills. The pro- 
ducts of the preceding year (1S39) were as follows : 7,614 
bushels of wheat, 137 bushels of barley, 13,674 bushels of 
oats, 60 bushels of rye, 259 bushels of buckwheat, 3,695 
bushels of Indian corn, 27,508 bushels of potatoes, 1,707 
tons of hay, 30,460 pounds of maple sugar, 2,316 barrels of 
fish, and 27,880 dollars' worth of lumber. In 1845 there 
were 1 12,798 acres of land liable to tax, and the whole 
amount of taxable property was $309,764. 

The " town system" is adopted, and the county is divid- 
ed into four towns — Green Bay, Depere, Kakalin and 
Howard. 

The town of Kakalin is on the Neenah river, in the 
south part of the county. The Grand Kakalin rapids, from 
which this town derives its name, is near the middle of the 
town. It is the principal and most noted rapids of the 
Neenah. In a space of eight thousand six hundred feet, 
according to the survey of Capt. Cram, there is a descent, 
over horizontal strata of limestone rock, of forty-four feet. 
The river is here divided, by about thirty small islands, into 
numerous small channels. On approaching, and upon leav- 
ing these rapids, it has a direction nearly northeast, but 
upon the rapids it is deflected to a due east course. The 
Konkapot creek enters the river from the south, at these 
rapids ; and a town, called La Fontaine, has been laid out 



BROWN COUNTY. 85 

near their foot. Stone, of excellent quality for building, 
may be quarried here in abundance. A company has been 
incorporated to construct a railroad from this point to Lake 
Winnebago. Bridgeport, or Waupakun, is situated at the 
mouth of Plum creek, in this town, about two miles below 
Rapide de Croche. From this place a survey has been 
made for a canal to Cliffton, on Lake Winnebago. The 
length of the route is fourteen miles and five hundred and 
eighty feet : a feeder from the north branch of the Manito- 
woc river, nearly two miles in length, would be necessary. 
The summit is eighty-five feet and fifty-one hundredths 
above Lake Winnebago, and the Manitowoc, at the head 
of the proposed feeder, is sixty-eight feet above that lake. 
By the construction of this canal the rapids of the Neenah 
would be avoided. The population of the town of Kaka- 
lin, in 1842, was 251. 

The town of Depere lies between Kakalin and Green 
Bay, extending east to Lake Michigan. It derives its name 
from the Rapides des Peres, on the Neenah river, six miles 
above Green Bay, being the first of a series of rapids ex- 
tending along this river as far as Lake Winnebago. The 
descent on these rapids is not very considerable, as the dam 
of six feet erected here by the " Fox river Hydraulic 
Company," not only flows the Depere, but also the Little 
Kakalin rapids. At these rapids a town has been built, 
which is the seat of justice for the county. It was laid out 
in 1835, on a level plain of considerable elevation above 
the river, with a good soil for gardens, and being at the 
head of natural navigation, and having a very extensive and 
valuable water power, will probably continue to grow and 
prosper until it becomes an important place. Good water 
is obtained by sinking wells to the depth of ten feet. A 
village has been laid out at the mouth of the Kewaunee, on 
Lake Michigan, and a survey made, with a view of con- 
structing a harbor ; but no improvements have been made 
at this point. It is suggested that a railroad from Kewau- 



86 BROWN COUNTY. 

nee to Green Bay, a distance of twenty-three miles, would 
save vessels navigating Lake Michigan a voyage up Green 
Bay and back, or one hundred and eighty miles, by making 
Kewaunee a " port" for Green Bay. Should this ever be 
done, Kewaunee may become an important point. 

The population of Depere in 1842 was 320. 

The town of Green Bay embraces all that part of the 
county east of Fox river and Green Bay, and not included 
in the towns of Depere and Kakalin. It takes its name 
from the large bay, or arm of Lake Michigan, of the same 
name, which is about one hundred miles long, with an 
average breadth of about twenty miles, and a supposed 
depth of five hundred feet. The towns of Navarino and 
Astor, on the east side of the Neenah at its mouth, consti- 
tute the north and south wards of the town or village of 
Green Bay. The former is the original and ancient town, 
Astor having been laid out in 1836, as an addition or exten- 
sion of Navarino. Green Bay is one of the largest towns 
in the Territory ; and it was at one time believed that it 
would become the " commercial emporium" of the whole 
country as far as the Mississippi. But during the last few 
years it has not increased so rapidly in population as its 
friends and citizens had anticipated. Its location is one of 
great beauty of scenery, at the mouth of an important river, 
but its commercial relations with the surrounding country 
are in a great degree dependent upon the improvement of 
the navigation of that river. Should that important work 
ever be accomplished, we may expect to find Green Bay 
to hold its rank as one among the principal towns or cities 
of Wisconsin. Its population was estimated in 1839, by 
the newspaper writers of that day, at about two thousand. 
According to the census taken in 1S42, it numbered seven 
hundred and sixty-two, of which two hundred and seventy- 
nine were in the south ward, or Astor. It is now supposed 
to be about one thousand. There are many good buildings, 
spacious warehouses, excellent hotels, and fine churches, at 



BROWN COUNTY. 87 

Green Bay, and the country immediately around presents 
many fine farms, gardens, and residences ; but a short dis- 
tance in the interior, the land is but little occupied, affording 
many good locations for the emigrant who wishes to make 
agriculture his business. The bay and river afford a per- 
fectly secure harbor, without the aid of piers or any other 
works. Steamboats of the largest class have landed at the 
wharves and discharged their cargo and passengers. The 
increased sales of land to actual settlers, the discovery of 
some mines of copper in the north part of the county, and 
the arrangement by which one or more of the larger steam- 
boats navigating the lakes are to touch at this point, all 
seem to indicate a revival of business at Green Bay. 

The following table exhibits the value of the goods and 
articles of all kinds imported and exported to and from 
Green Bay, as reported by Col. Albert, of the U. S. Topo- 
graphical Engineers, from 1836 to 1S41 inclusive : 
Years. Imports, Exports. 

1836 $392,291 $ 56,660 

1837 352,649 109,980 

1838 395,345 72,265 

1839 258,791 121,126 

1840 248,819 148,943 

1841 269,618 87,120 
Green Bay is 124 miles from Milwaukee, by way of Fond 

du Lac, or 114 by way of the United States road, by She- 
boygan and Manitowoc ; 34 miles from Manitowoc, 63 from 
Sheboygan, and 60 miles from Fond du Lac. 

Fort Howard is a military post, opposite the town of 
Green Bay, at the mouth of the Neenah. It is situated on 
a slight eminence, commanding a delightful view of the 
town and harbor. 

The town of Howard was established in 1844, embracing 
nearly all of the county west of Green Bay and the Neenah 
or Fox river. It embraces the settlement of Oneida Indians 
on Duck creek, and the fine lumbering region on the Oconto., 
Pensankee and other rivers. 



88 BROWN COUNTY. 

Several other towns have been laid out and established 
by law in this county, but they were subsequently attached 
to one or other of the three towns here described. Among 
them were Bay-settlement, Kewaunee, Perry and Pen- 
saukee. 

There are several important rivers in Brown County, 
which will now be noticed more in detail. 

The Menomonee is quite a large river, that enters Green 
Bay about its middle, and forms part of the boundary of 
the county and the Territory. Its course has been very 
inaccurately represented on the old maps, and some diffi- 
culties have resulted in relation to the boundary between 
Wisconsin and Michigan, requiring the action of Congress 
to adjust, — so important is it for map-makers to preserve 
accuracy in their work ! 

Nearly all the accurate information we have relative to 
this stream is derived from the government survey, under 
Capt. Cram, who reports that " it passes a large volume of 
water into Green Bay at all seasons of the year, and yet is 
subject to considerable variations in height, consequent 
upon the fluctuations of its principal tributaries, which are 
themselves of considerable size. It is not navigable for 
any craft except canoes, owing to difficult rapids, shoals, 
and falls. The banks of the river, as well as its islands, 
from its mouth as far up as the Big Quinnesec Falls, are 
covered with an excellent growth of white and yellow pine 
timber, which in process of time must become very valua- 
ble. The bed of the river throughout is exceedingly rocky, 
and its banks in many places, particularly at the falls and 
principal rapids, consist chiefly of rock. It does not over- 
flow its banks, which are generally quite bold. The val- 
ley of the Menomonee contains much good land, and is in 
the main much better than is generally supposed. The 
country adjacent to the upper part of the Menomonee, for 
about thirty miles on both sides, has an exceedingly deso- 
late appearance ; all the timber, which was once pine, has 



BROWN COUNTY. 89 

been consumed by fire, as far as the eye could reach on 
every side. The prospect is one of a broken landscape of 
barren hills, studded here and there with charred pine stubs, 
with scarce a living tree except the second growth of white 
birch and poplar. The soil of the hills is rocky and unfit 
for cultivation." Within this " burnt district " there are 
two perpendicular falls, about a mile apart, and about nine 
feet in height ; and at the termination of that district is the 
Big Quinnesec Falls, where there is a difficult portage of 
one and a half miles. The total fall in this distance in the 
river is one hundred and thirty-four feet. " This amount," 
says Capt. Cram, " is divided into several chutes, with in- 
tervening rapids* The general aspect of this series of wa- 
ter falls is exceedingly picturesque : at every change of the 
point of view, new and varied beauties are perceived ; but 
the lower fall of the series is by far the most magnificent of 
all the cascades on the Menomonee. Here the whole river 
is seen in a terrible phrenzy, dashing in mighty masses of 
foam over a perpendicular wall of rocks forty feet in height." 
The next fall in descending the river is the Little Quinne- 
sec, where the fall is about thirty-five feet in an extent of 
two hundred and fifty feet, and the river is contracted in 
width to about eighty-five feet. The bed and banks are 
composed of slate rock. The name of these two falls, 
Quinnesec, is derived from what the Indians take to be 
smoke (spray), which is seen continually ascending from 
the bottom of the torrent high into the air. The portage is 
short, but very steep and difficult. A short distance below 
is Sandy Portage, a beautiful rapid about a mile in extent, 
with a perpendicular fall. Sturgeon Falls, so called be- 
cause the sturgeon, in ascending the river, are stopped here, 
and collect in great numbers, is the next below Sandy Port- 
age. The fall is thirteen and three-fourths feet, in a dis- 
tance of one thousand feet. The river is here also con- 
tracted to eighty feet in width, and rushes through a straight 
gap or cliff, the summit of which is one hundred feet above 



90 BROWN COUNTY. 

the water below the falls. It is quite impossible for canoes 
or even sturgeon to pass these falls in safety. The scenery 
is picturesque, and the abundance of sturgeon causes it to 
be much visited by the Indians. The Quaver Rapids and 
portage, some miles below, require an hour for the pas- 
sage. The Pemenee Falls (elbow), so called from a crook 
in the river just below, has a fall of eight and eighty-four 
hundredths feet, in a distance of eight hundred and thirty- 
three feet, exclusive of a short rapid immediately above 
the principal chute. The passage for the water, in its nar- 
rowest place, is fifty feet wide. A slight rapids, called 
White Rapids, lies between the Pemenee and the Grand 
Rapids, where for two miles the water is shoal, and passes 
over a smooth bottom of flat stones. Below these are two 
slight rapids, known as Chappeau's and the Menomonee 
Rapids. When this country becomes densely populated, 
the various rapids along the river will, in consequence of 
the water power they afford, become the sites of important 
villages and manufacturing towns. 

The Neenah, or, as it was formerly called, the Fox 
River of Green Bay,* is one of the most important rivers 
in Wisconsin, extending, as it does, nearly half across the 
Teiritory, and almost touching at the portage the waters of 
another river, by which navigation may, with a little im- 
provement, be extended across the country from Lake 
Michigan to the Mississippi. It takes its rise in Lake Sa- 
rah, Portage county, and runs in a direction a little south 
of west (almost directly opposite its general course) for 
eighteen miles, towards the Wisconsin, as if with the in- 
tention of entering that river ; but, owing to some unac- 
countable freak of nature, when within one and a half miles 
of that stream, makes a sudden turn to the north, and soon 
assumes its general course towards Green Bay. From the 

* It is to be regretted that the citizens are not willing to adopt the 
Indian name of this important river, as we have another of the same 
name. 



BROWN COUNTY. 91 

portage to Lake Winnebago, through which this river 
passes, it winds about among extensive marshes covered 
with tall grass and wild rice. Below the lake there is 
a succession of rapids, that require an expenditure of 
about four hundred and fifty thousand dollars to render 
the river navigable. At the Winnebago Rapids, near Lake 
Winnebago, there is a descent of seven feet and fifty-four 
hundredths in a distance of seven thousand seven hundred 
feet. At the Grand Chute, nine miles above [the Grand 
Kakalin, there is a fall of twenty-nine feet and sixty-, 
hundredths, in a distance of eight thousand five hundred 
and twenty-five feet. At the head of the chute the bluffs 
are very steep and high. At the Little Chute, three miles 
above the Grand Kakalin, there is a descent of thirty-one 
feet and twenty-two hundredths, in a distance of nine thou- 
sand two hundred feet ; and the banks are high and steep near 
the head of the chute. At the Grand Kakalin there is a fall of 
forty-four feet, in a distance of eight thousand six hundred 
feet. At the Rapide de Croche, four miles below the 
Grand Kakalin, the fall of the river is only one foot and 
Seventeen hundredths, in a distance of thirteen hundred 
feet ; but the " crook " is so short, and the current so 
rapid, and sets so strongly against the southern bank, that 
a boat would experience great difficulty in passing, and 
would invariably incur the risk of being forced against the 
shore before it could turn the. elbow or crook. The Little 
Kakalin, and Depere Rapids, are already improved, by the 
dam at Depere, of six feet in height. The whole descent in 
these rapids is about one hundred and twenty feet ; and if we 
add one foot per mile for the descent of the river between 
the rapids, we find Lake Winnebago one hundred and sixty 
feet above Lake Michigan. Above Lake Winnebago, the 
descent in the river is probably about half a foot per mile, 
or sixty-three feet to the portage, making that place, as 
stated in the table of altitudes (page 49), two hundred and 
twenty-three feet above Lake Michigan. At a place on 



92 BROWN COUNTY. 

this river called Red Banks, there are numerous ancient ar- 
tificial mounds and earth-works, on both sides of the river. 
Table of distances along the course of the Neenah : 

From the mouth to the Rapides des Peres . . 7 miles. 

Thence to the Little Kakalin .... 5 

" Rapide de Croche 7 

Grand Kakalin 4 

" Little Chute .4 

" Grand Chute 5 

" Winnebago Rapids 7 

" Oshkosh (through Lake Winnebago) . 15 

Great Butte des Morts lake . . .4 

through said lake . 4 

" to mouth of Wolf river ... 3 

" Lake Puckawa ..... 47 

through said lake «... 6 

" to Buffalo lake .... S 

" through said lake . . . .11 

to the portage . . . . 21 

Total . . . .158 

The other streams, which are wholly or partially within 
the county of Brown, so far as they have received names, 
and become known to the writer, are as follows : 

Apple river, a branch of the Neenah from the northwest, 
entering about five miles below Rapide de Croche. 

Ashwabena, another small tributary of the Neenah, en- 
ters between Green Bay and Depere, from the west. 

Benton creek, a small branch of the West Twin river, 
about ten miles in length, entering near the north part of 
town twenty-one, range twenty-three. 

Duck creek, a small stream running through the tract of 
land occupied by the Oneida Indians, and entering Green 
Bay a little west of the Neenah. The settlement of Oneida 
Indians is on this creek, numbering about seven hundred, 
of whom one hundred and twenty are communicants of the 
Episcopal Church, under the charge of the Rev. Solomon 
Davis. 



BROWN COUNTY. 93 

Embarrass, a branch of Wolf river, from the west. 

Kewaunee river, a tributary of Lake Michigan, enter- 
ing immediately east from the southern extremity of Green 
Bay. It is about twenty-five miles long, and drains about 
one hundred and twenty square miles of surface. It is said 
to be navigable for vessels drawing twelve feet, for a dis- 
tance of five and a half miles from its mouth, to a place 
where it has worn a channel for itself through a limestone 
ledge, and affords good water power. It is the most north- 
erly stream on the west side of the lake at which a good 
harbor can be constructed. 

Manitoo river (or, as it is vulgarly called, Devil river) 
rises near the south line of the country, and running paral- 
lel to, and within two or three miles of the Neenah river, 
for a distance of twenty miles, enters that river near its 
mouth. This peculiar tendency of several streams and 
lakes to parallelism, is probably owing to some peculiar ar- 
rangement of the strata of rock beneath the soil, which is 
here limestone. 

Martin's creek, a branch of the East Twin river, about 
seven miles in length, entering in town twenty-one, and 
range twenty-four. 

Mauvaise creek, a stream about nine miles in length, 
running between Benton's and Martin's Creek, into the 
East Twin. 

Mud creek enters the Neenah from the south, at the 
foot of the Little Chute, two and a half miles above La 
Fontaine. 

Muskos, a branch of the Menomonee, sometimes called 
Pine river, which enters near the Big Quinnesec Falls a 
few miles below the mouth of the Wesacota. It is so low 
in summer that it is not navigable, except for the smallest 
canoes ; and in some seasons it is almost dry. This indi- 
cates a sandy bed and soil. 

Namayacum, a branch of the Neenah, entering from the 
north a few miles below Puckawa lake. 



94 BROWN COUNTY. 

Oconto, an important tributary of Green Bay, next north 
of the Pensaukee, and between that stream and the Pesh- 
tego. A short portage connects it with Wolf river. Some 
settlements have recently been commenced and saw r -mills 
erected on this river. It has a considerable tributary from 
the north, called Little river. 

Pensaukee, also a tributary of Green Bay, entering in 
town twenty-seven, upon which saw-mills, for the manu- 
facture of pine lumber, have recently been built. 

Peshtego. This is the largest tributary of Green Bay 
between the Menomonee and the Neenah. It is repre- 
sented as entering an estuary, or arm of the bay, eight 
miles in length, and about six miles from the mouth of the 
Menomonee. But little is known of the character or extent 
of this stream. 

Plover Portage river rises near the Plover portage on 
the Wisconsin river, and enters Wolf river in town twenty- 
one. 

Rat river is a tributary of Wolf river from the east. 

Suamico. Big Suamico enters Green Bay from the west, 
five miles north of Grassy Point ; and Little Suamico enters 
six miles north from the mouth of the former. 

Scarboro' creek, a branch of the Kewaunee, from the 
southwest, rising near the sources of the Twin rivers. 

Thorn Apple creek, a small branch of the East Twin 
river, rising near the Kewaunee, and entering the Twin in 
township twenty-two. 

Twin rivers (East and West), two streams that rise in 
the southwest part of Brown county, and run into Mani- 
towoc, where they unite just before they enter Lake 
Michigan. 

Wesacota (Brule, or Burnt river*), that branch of the 
Menomonee which approaches nearest to the " Lac Vieux 
Desert," and forming, therefore, a part of the northern 

* As there is another river of this name in the Territory it is hoped 
that the Indian name may be adopted for this stream. 



BROWN COUNTY. 95 

boundary of Wisconsin. It is one of the principal branches, 
has a rapid current, and varies in width from eighty to one 
hundred feet. The bed is rocky, and it is generally so 
shallow as to render it difficult to ascend it with canoes, 
except in times of high water. The banks are thickly 
studded with white cedar, fir, poplar, tamarack, white 
birch and pine, for a great extent. There are two portages 
or falls, about ten miles above its junction with the Meno- 
monee. It rises near Lake Brule. Its name is applied in 
consequence of the timber near its mouth having been de- 
stroyed by fire. 

Wolf, or Pewaugonee, a large branch of the Neenah, 
from the north, entering three miles above the Great Butte 
des Morts, in Winnebago county. It is larger than the 
Neenah itself at the confluence, and immediately above it 
expands into a lake, called Pewaugan lake. Its head 
branches approach the Wisconsin near the Plover portage, 
so near that persons often take this route from Green Bay 
to the upper Wisconsin. 

Many of the small Lakes of Brown county have not 
yet been noticed, and received names by which they may 
be designated in this work. The only one about which 
anything is definitely known, is 

Lake Katakittekon, or " Lac Vieux Desert, n at the 
head of the Wisconsin river (and not of the Montreal, as 
was supposed), which it is probable may fall within the 
county of Brown. The middle of this lake was made a 
point in the boundary of the Territory. On an island in 
this lake there was an old deserted planting ground of the 
Indians ; hence its name with the French, Lac Vieux De- 
sert. Lake of the Desert, as this is sometimes translated, 
is an improper name, the country about it being not a 
desert, but one of great fertility. It occupies a high level 
above Lakes Superior and Michigan, and abounds in small 
lakes, which constitute the heads of several large rivers. 
The Menomonee of Lake Michigan, then Otonagon and 



96 BROWN COUNTY. 

Montreal of Lake Superior, and the Wisconsin and Chip- 
pewa, of the Mississippi, all take their rise on the summit 
in the Katakittekon country. The following extract from 
Capt. Cram's report relative to this interesting country, is 
the only information we have in relation to it. " The wa- 
ter of these small reservoirs, and of the streams generally, 
is cold and limpid. Some of the lakes were observed to 
contain the speckled trout, such as are generally met with 
in high latitudes in the United States. The scenery of 
these lakes is beautiful, and the land adjacent to them is 
better than is generally believed by those who have not had 
an opportunity of personal examination. The country is 
not mountainous, but may be denominated c rolling.' The 
growth of timber is tolerably heavy, consisting of white 
and yellow pine on the borders of the lakes ; in some in- 
stances of cedar, fir, hemlock, and tamarack ; and a little 
back of the lakes, of sugar maple, white maple, white and 
yellow birch, poplar, bass and hemlock. . The soil is of a 
nature to be adapted to the culture of wheat, rye, grass, 
oats, flax, hemp, and potatoes. In some places the soil is 
rocky, although no very large masses or ledges of rocks 
were observed. The manufacture of maple sugar is car- 
ried on to a considerable extent by the Indians of this region. 
Many of their i sugar bushes ' were observed, and from 
the oldness of the marks upon the trees, the Indians must 
have known the art of extracting this luxury from the for- 
est from an early date of their history. A very good kind 
of potatoe (wild ?) is raised here, the mode of preserving 
which was entirely new to us. The potatoes, which are 
of an oblong shape, and not larger than a man's thumb, are 
partially boiled, and carefully peeled while hot, without 
breaking the pulp, and strung like so many beads upon a 
twine, or tough thread of bark, and then hung in festoons 
on the ridge-pole of the wigwam, over the smoke of the 
fire, where they become thoroughly dry. This process 
renders the potatoe fit for transportation and use during the 



BROWN COUNTY. 97 

severest frosts without injury. The squaws take great in- 
terest in preparing this article of food, which is about the 
only vegetable they cultivate. This district is tolerably 
well provided with deer, beaver, otter, martin, mink, musk- 
rat, ducks of various kinds, fish, teal, wild geese and par- 
tridges. Deer, however, are not so plentiful as further 
south. Winter usually sets in about the 20th October, in 
the Katakittekon country : this year from the 20th to the 
2Sth October, the mercury ranged as low as from nine to 
twelve degrees below freezing, and for several days during 
the latter part of October, it was continually snowing. On 
the return of our party, Sandy Lake outlet had become so 
much frozen as to make it necessary to drag the canoes on 
the ice ; and the ice was making very fast in all the lakes 
and streams — this in the very last days of October." The 
Lake Katakittekon is about three miles in its extreme 
length from north to south, and is very irregular in form. 

Lake Showanno is the name of a lake near the head of 
Wolf river, from which there is a portage to the Oconto 
river, of Green Bay. 

Green Bay, which derives its names from a fancied 
deeper green color of its waters than usual, may be con- 
sidered as a lake connected with Lake Michigan, at the 
" Porte du Morts," or Death's Door. At this point there 
are several islands, the largest of which, called the Pota- 
watomee island, is twenty-eight miles in circumference, 
and about five miles in diameter. Rock island (5 3-8 
miles in circuit) lies near the northeast corner of it, and 
Detroit and Plum islands lie between it and the main 
shore at the south. Detroit I. is four miles long, half a 
mile wide, and nine and one-fourth miles around. Cham- 
bers' island is near the middle of Green Bay, and may be 
considered as belonging to Michigan. It is four miles long 
and two broad, and contains a lake or pond about a mile in 
length. Sturgeon Bay, and Little Sturgeon Bay, are 
two small arms of Green Bay, on the east side, about half 



98 MANITOWOC COUNTY. 

way between the town of Green Bay and Death's Door. 
At this point gypsum, or plaster of Paris, has been found, 
and probably exists in sufficient quantities to become im- 
portant, and may hereafter be worked to advantage. Near 
the southern extremity of the bay, there is a small island 
called Grass Island, lying opposite a point on the west 
side, a little north of Duck creek, called Grass Point ; and 
" Point au Salle " is a similar point on the east side of 
the bay. 

MANITOWOC COUNTY. 

This is a lake county, next south of Brown, being bounded 
on the north by Brown county, or the north line of town- 
ship number twenty ; on the east by Lake Michigan, or 
rather by the Territorial line in the middle of that lake ; 
on the south by Sheboygan county, or the south line of 
township number seventeen ; and on the west by Calumet 
county, or the west line of range twenty-one. It has a 
length from north to south of twenty-four miles, and an 
average breadth of twenty miles, and consequently an area 
of four hundred and eighty square miles. The coast line is 
twenty-eight and one fourth miles. This county was set 
off from Brown, and its boundaries defined in 1836, but was 
not organized as a separate county until 1S39 ; and it is not 
yet fully organized, being attached to Fond du Lac county 
for judicial purposes. The population in 1840 was two 
hundred and thirty-five, and in 1842 it had only increased 
to two hundred and sixty-three, but since that time a con- 
siderable addition has been made to the population, so that 
it is now estimated at about six hundred. The principal 
settlements are at the Manitowoc Rapids, near the mouth 
of that river, and at Neshoto, on the West Twin river. 

The whole county consists of timbered land — being 
usually hard wood, as beech, maple, bass-wood, &c, ex- 
cept along the margin of the principal streams, where pine 
predominates. Pine lumber is manufactured to a consider- 



MANITOWOC COUNTY. 99 

able extent, and shipped on the lake to market. In gene- 
ral, the soil is of good quality, and wherever tested, it is 
found to yield all the usual crops in great abundance. It 
abounds in copious springs of pure water, and three small 
lakes exist in the western and southern parts of the county. 
One small lake in township eighteen, range twenty-three, 
was named English lake by the surveyors, because one of 
their party, named English, fell into the lake while engaged 
in making the public surveys. 

The village of Manitowoc, at the mouth of the river of 
the same name, consisting of some twenty or thirty build- 
ings, is a place of some importance as the depot of the 
lumber made on the river above. A lighthouse has been 
erected here by the government, and in 1S43 a pier was 
constructed for the accommodation of lake vessels at private 
cost. The interest and safety of the lake navigation re- 
quire a permanent harbor at this point, which it is hoped 
will soon be constructed by the general government. 

Manitowoc Rapids is the name of a village four miles 
above Manitowoc at the lake shore, thirty-four miles from 
Green Bay, twenty-nine miles from Sheboygan Falls, and 
eighty miles from Milwaukee. The rapids here, at the 
head of navigation of the river, afford a very extensive 
water power, which is taken advantage of to manufacture 
pine lumber and shingles to a great extent, to be shipped 
on Lake Michigan. 

Nesheto is another village of this county, situated at the 
head of navigation of the West Twin river, where there is 
also a water-power and saw-mills. It is eight miles above 
the mouth of the river. 

In 1840, there were in this county 11 horses, SI neat 
cattle, 90 swine, one flouring mill, and six saw mills ; and 
the products during the year 1S39 were 225 bushels of 
wheat, 1,750 bushels of oats, 175 bushels of Indian corn, 
1,900 bushels of potatoes, 67 tons of hay, 2,900 pounds of 
maple sugar, and 2,000 barrels of fish. 



100 MANITOWOC COUNTY. 

The Manitowoc river, or " river of spirits," is the 
largest and principal stream in the county. It originates in 
two main branches called the north and south branches, 
which have their origin near the two extremities of Lake 
Winnebago, and unite at the west line of this county. It 
drains about four hundred square miles of surface, and is 
navigable four miles, to the foot of the rapids. From this 
point there is a series of rapids extending twelve miles, 
with an aggregate fall supposed to be about one hundred 
and forty feet. Above this point the current is gentle, and 
the stream is navigable for canoes to within a few miles of 
Lake Winnebago. 

A canal has been proposed along this river to Lake Win- 
nebago, for the purpose of bringing the trade of the country, 
lying in that vicinity, and west of it, to Manitowoc, instead 
of Green Bay. The distance is about forty miles, and the 
summit, according to the survey of Captain Cram, on the 
north branch, is eighty-five and a half feet above Lake 
Winnebago, and about two hundred and forty-five feet 
above Lake Michigan, requiring a lockage (should the 
summit be cut down seventeen and a half feet, to the level 
of the head marsh, in township twenty, range nineteen) of 
two hundred and twenty-eight feet on the east side, and 
sixty -eight feet on the west side of the summit ; or thirty- 
seven locks, of eight feet lift, each within forty miles. It 
is supposed that an abundant supply of water can be com- 
manded on the summit. 

The East and West Twin rivers are two streams 
rising in Brown county, and running in a southerly direction 
nearly parallel with each other (of nearly equal size), and 
entering Lake Michigan six miles northeast from the mouth 
of Manitowoc. They unite their waters just before they 
enter the lake. The East Twin runs nearly its whole 
course almost exactly parallel with the lake shore — a cir- 
cumstance observed in many other streams. Like the 



SHEBOYGAN COUNTY. 101 

other tributaries of Lake Michigan, they have rapids a few- 
miles above their mouth. 

The Sheboygan river runs through the southwest 
corner of this county, and the head waters of Memee 
creek occupy a portion of the south tier of townships. 
Calvin's creek, a small tributary of Lake Michigan, four 
miles south of Manitowoc, and Point creek, seven miles 
from Manitowoc, are all that have received distinct names. 
There are two large branches of the Manitowoc, from the 
north, not yet named. 

Post-offices have been established at Manitowoc, Mani- 
towoc Rapids, and Tw r in rivers. 



SHEBOYGAN COUNTY. 

The county of Sheboygan is bounded on the north by 
Manitowoc county; east by Lake Michigan; south by 
Washington county ; and west by Fond du Lac county, 
embracing townships thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and sixteen, 
in ranges twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two and twenty-three 
east of the fourth principal meridian. It is twenty-four 
miles long from north to south, and has an average width 
of twenty and one-fourth miles. The area is, therefore, five 
hundred and ten square miles, of which about fifteen are 
covered by the waters of the Sheboygan lake, occupying 
the northwest corner township. The length of the coast 
line is twenty-six and one-eighth miles. This county was 
set off from Brown, in 1S36, and organized for county pur- 
poses, in 1S39. For judicial purposes it is united with 
Fond du Lac county; but is to be fully organized in 1S46. 
The population in lS40was one hundred and thirty-three; 
and in 1S43 it was two hundred and twenty-one, and it is 
now supposed to be twelve hundred. 

There are no prairies or openings j the whole country 
being covered by dense forests. Among the trees are found 
pine, to a considerable extent, which is manufactured into 



102 SHEBOYGAN COUNTY. 

lumber at the Sheboygan Falls, near the mouth of the 
river, and shipped on Lake Michigan. 

The Sheboygan river rises on the high grounds near 
the southern extremity of Lake Winnebago, in Fond du 
Lac county, and running through Sheboygan lake, makes 
a sudden bend to the north, into Manitowoc county, and 
then turning to the south east, enters Lake Michigan near 
the centre of Sheboygan county. The original Indian 
name of this river it is almost impossible for any white man 
to pronounce (Shawb-wa-way-gun), and its meaning is, 
" the river that comes out of the ground." Whether it has 
any part of its course under the ground, as is often the 
case in limestone countries, and as this name would seem 
to indicate, is not known. It drains about three hundred' 
and eighty square miles of surface. At the crossing of the 
United States road, about six miles above the mouth, there 
is a rapid or fall, affording abundance of water power, 
which is already improved. A town has been commenced 
here called " Sheboygan Falls." 

Mullet river is a considerable branch of the Sheboy- 
gan, entering on the south side, one mile above^the Falls, 
and Onion river enters immediately at the Falls. This 
last has a southerly direction for some distance, to a place 
noted as the "Salt Licks," and then turns completely 
around and runs north. Whether these salt licks indicate 
the existence of salt water or springs in the vicinity, re- 
mains to be determined. The rocks found here, and 
throughout the county, are limestone, similar to that found 
throughout the eastern portion of the Territory. The 
Memee creek is another instance of that remarkable par- 
allelism so often observed in the rivers and streams of Wis- 
consin. It rises in Manitowoc county, and runs south be- 
tween the Sheboygan river and the lake shore, and nearly 
parallel with each. It enters the lake three miles north of 
Sheboygan, having made a sudden turn to the northeast a 
few miles above its junction. Black creek runs nearly its 



SHEBOYGAN COUNTY. 103 

whole course (about six miles) parallel with the lake 
shore, and only about half a mile from it. It enters the 
lake three miles south of Sheboygan. 

In 1S40, there were in this county 4 horses, 59 neat cattle, 
83 swine, one grist-mill and two saw-mills ; and the pro- 
ducts of the preceding year were estimated to be 548 
bushels of wheat, 985 of oats, 75 of buckwheat, 170 of 
Indian corn, and 1,80S of potatoes ; 62 tons of hay, 910 
pounds of maple sugar, 420 barrels of fish, and eight thou- 
sand five hundred dollars worth of lumber. 

There are five small lakes in this county, that are named 
on the maps, and four others not named. 

Bear Lake, - Section 29, Town'p 15, Range 20} 

Cedar Lake, - " 31 & 32, « 16, " [21. 

Big ElkhartjLake, " 29 & 30, « 16, « 21. 

Little Elkhart L. " 33 & 34, " 16, " 21. 

Sheboygan Lake, " " 16, " 21. 

The town of Sheboygan is situated on the shore of Lake 
Michigan at the mouth of the Sheboygan river, and is the 
port at which the commercial business of this county is 
mostly done. The value of the business done at this point, 
as stated by Col. Abert, is as follows : 

Years. Imports. Exports. 

1836 $11,000 $13,128 

1837 12,000 20,150 

1838 4,000 12,158 

1839 2,200 16,050 

1840 650 13,518 

1841 725 12,058 

Since 1841, no statements of the amount of business 
have been published. The town now contains about three 
hundred inhabitants, and will soon become one of the most 
important points on the lake shore in the Territory. A 
temporary pier has been built to accommodate the ship- 
ping ; and a good road opened between this place and Fond 
du Lac, thirty-five miles, for which the sum of three thou- 



104 WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

sand dollars was appropriated by the general government. 
This road not only connects Sheboygan with the fine farm- 
ing region about Fond du Lac, but also with the navigation 
of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. 

Sheboygan Falls is the name of a thriving village situ- 
ated at the Falls of the Sheboygan river six miles above 
the mouth, which is rapidly increasing in population and 
business. Sheboygan Falls is fifty-one miles from Mil- 
waukee, twenty-nine from Manitowoc Falls, and sixty-three 
from Green Bay. There are two post-offices in Sheboygan 
county — at Sheboygan, and Sheboygan Falls. 

WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

This is a large county lying on Lake Michigan, between 
Milwaukee and Sheboygan counties, and bounded on the 
west by Dodge county. It extends from the south line of 
township nine to the north line of town twelve, and from 
the west line of range eighteen to the lake — being twenty- 
four miles wide from north to south, and twenty-seven 
miles average length ; and having, consequently, an area 
of six hundred and forty-eight miles. The coast line in 
this county is twenty-five and three-eighth miles. It was 
set off from Milwaukee county in 1836, and organized for 
county purposes in 1840, and for judicial purposes in 
1845. The first settlements in this county were com- 
menced in 1836, and in 1838 the population was sixty- 
four ; in 1840, it had increased to three hundred and forty- 
three ; and in 1842, to nine hundred and sixty -five — show- 
ing a rate of increase that will soon make this one of the 
most important counties. 

Its present population is estimated at five thousand five 
hundred. Having but little direct connection with the 
lake navigation, and the whole county being covered with 
a forest of oak, maple, beech, basswood, &c, will in some 
measure prevent the rapid settlement that might under 
other circumstances be expected. But Washington cdunty 



WASHINGTON COUNTY. 105 

has a soil which is, perhaps, not surpassed by any in the 
Territory ; an abundance of water gushing up from the 
limestone substratum on almost every quarter section, and 
extensive water privileges at the Milwaukee Falls, and 
many other places. With these privileges, we may safely 
predict that this will, in time, become one of the richest 
counties. 

A considerable number of German emigrants have made 
their new homes in the southern part of this county. 

The Milwaukee river lies chiefly in Washington county, 
rising near the sources of the Sheboygan, in Fond du Lac 
county, and running in a southeasterly direction about 
thirty miles, to within a few miles of the lake, where it 
turns to the south, and runs about thirty miles parallel with 
the shore, and enters the lake at Milwaukee. Near the 
mouth of Cedar Creek it is confined between high perpen- 
dicular banks of limestone rock, and has a considerable fall. 
This place is called the " Milwaukee Falls," and from here 
to the head of the rapids, near Milwaukee, the river is 
navigable for small boats. About seven hundred and fifty 
square miles of surface are drained by this river. Cedar 
Creek is a branch of the Milwaukee, entering a little below 
the falls, and having a similar fall near the junction, over 
the same limestone ledge. It is a rapid stream, supplied 
chiefly by many copious springs, and having a very crooked 
and irregular course. It is the outlet of 

Musquewoc Lake, a beautiful sheet of water, four 
miles in length, five-eighths of a mile wide, and nine and 
one-fourth miles in circumference, near the western part of 
the county. 

Sauk Creek is a small tributary to Lake Michigan, 
entering at a place called Sauk Washington, where there 
is a thriving little village, at which much business is done. 
A pier has been built at this place at which wood is furnish- 
ed for steamboats navigating the lake. A town was laid out 
on the west side of the Milwaukee river, opposite this 
(-■ 



106 WASHINGTON COUNTY. 

point, called Saukville, twenty-six miles from Milwaukee^ 
and twenty-seven miles from Sheboygan Falls. A road 
has been opened by the general government from Sauk to 
Dekorra, on the Wisconsin river, which is now so com- 
pletely grown up with bushes and small trees, as to be 
almost impassable. 

Stony creek is a small stream in the north part of the 
county ; and Pigeon creek enters the Milwaukee in town 
nine. Random lake is in sections nine, ten, fifteen and 
sixteen, township twelve, range twenty-one. On Pigeon 
creek there is a saw-mill, in excavating for the foundation 
of which a piece of native copper was found. 

Besides the two lakes already mentioned, there are 
twenty-three others, all very small, in this county. 

The statistics of Washington county, as exhibited by the 
United States census of 1S40, are as follows : 3 horses, 277 
neat cattle, 1 sheep, 288 swine, 3 saw-mills ; 282 bushels 
of wheat, 165 of oats, 30 of rye, 74 of buckwheat, 558 of 
Indian corn and 2,150 of potatoes ; 3 pounds of hops, 88 
tons of hay, 4,659 pounds of maple sugar, and eight 
hundred dollars worth of lumber. 

Several villages have recently been laid out in this coun- 
ty, at which more or less improvement has been made, 
besides Sauk Washington and Saukville, which were laid 
out in 1836. The principal are Hamburgh, Cedarburgh, 
Mequon, Muker, Kerncastle, Rubicon, and West Bend. 

Post-offices have been established at Hamburgh, Me- 
quon, Muker, Rubicon, and Washington. 

The township system of government has been recently 
adopted in this county, and eleven towns have been estab- 
lished, as folio w r s : 

Addison, embracing townships eleven and twelve in range 
eighteen. 

Erin, township nine, range eighteen. 

Germantown, township nine, range twenty. 

Grafton, township ten, in ranges twenty-one and twenty-two, 

Jackson, township ten, in range twenty. 



MILWAUKEE COUNT V. 107 

Mequon, tonwnship nine, in ranges twenty-one and twenty-two. 

Polk, township ten, in range nineteen. 

Port Washington, townships eleven and twelve, in ranges 
twenty-one, twenty-two, and twenty- three. 

Richfield, township nine, in. range nineteen. 

West Bend, townships eleven and twelve, in ranges nineteen and 
twenty. 

Wright, township ten, in range eighteen. 

MILWAUKEE COUNTY 

Is bounded on the north by Dodge and Washington 
counties ; on the east by Lake Michigan ; on the south b}- 
Racine and Walworth counties ; and on the west by Jef- 
ferson : or on the north by the north line of township eight • 
south by the south line of township five ; and west by the 
west line of range seventeen. Its mean or average length 
is thirty-three and seven-eighth miles from east to west, 
and its width is twenty-four miles — occupying an area of 
eight hundred and thirteen square miles or sections. The 
length of the coast line, measuring around the bays and 
points, is twenty-six and seven-eighth miles. Milwaukee 
county was set off from Brown, September 6, 1834, by an 
act of the Legislature of Michigan, and organized the next 
year. It then extended from the Illinois State line seventy- 
two miles north, and west beyond Madison, Dana county. 
In June, IS36, the population amounted to two thousand 
eight hundred and ninety-two; in 1838, to three thousand 
one hundred and thirty-one ; in 1S40, to five thousand six 
hundred and five ; and in 1842, when last enumerated, to 
nine thousand five hundred and sixty-five. Such has been ^ 
the rapid increase since June, 1842, that the population 
may now be safely estimated at twenty-five thousand. 

" The town system" of government was adopted by a 
vote of the people, and the county is divided into twenty- 
three tow r ns, as follows : 

Brookfield embraces township seven, range twenty. 

Delafield, township seven, range eighteen. 



108 MILWAUKEE COUNTY, 

Eagle, township five, range seventeen. 

Franklin, township five, range twenty-one. 

Genesee, township six, range eighteen. 

Granville, township eight, range twenty-one. 

Greenfield, township six, range twenty-one. 

Lake, township six, range twenty-two. 

Lisbon, township eight, range nineteen. 

Menomonee, township eight, range twenty. 

Mequanigo, township five, range eighteen. 

Milwaukee, all of township eight, and so much of township 
seven, in range twenty-two, as is not included within the limits of 
the city of Milwaukee. 

Muskego, township five, range twenty. 

New Berlin, township six, range twenty. 

Oak Creek, township five, ranges twenty-two and twenty-three, 

Oconomewoc, township eight, range seventeen. 

Ottawa, township six, range seventeen. 

Pewaukee, township seven, range nineteen. 

Prairieville, township six, range nineteen. 

Summit, township seven, range seventeen. 

Vernon, township five, range eighteen. 

Warren, township eight, range eighteen. 

Wawatosa, township seven, range twenty-one. 

And the jive wards in the city of Milwaukee are ranked as 
separate towns. 

In 1840, there were in this county 541 horses, 5,100 
neat cattle, 798 sheep, S,114 swine, 1 iron foundry, 26 
stores and groceries, 2 printing-offices, 8 grist-mills, 13 saw- 
mills ; and in 1839, the amount of produce was 34,236 
bushels of wheat, 845 of barley, 26,863 of oats, 147 of rye, 
1,829 of buckwheat, 26,820 of Indian corn, and 64,242 of 
potatoes; 67 pounds of wool ; 4,574 tons of hay, 4S,8S6 
pounds of maple sugar, and fifteen thousand one hundred 
dollars worth of skins and furs. 

. Milwaukee county is to be divided by the line between 
ranges twenty and twenty-one, and a new county estab- 
lished to be called Waukesha, should the people within 
the limits of the proposed new county vote in favor of the 
division at the next general election. This county will be 



MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 



109 



twenty-four miles square, embracing the towns of Brook- 
field, Delafield, Eagle, Genesee, Lisbon, Menomonee, Me- 
quanigo, Muskego, New Berlin, Oconomewoc, Ottawa, 
Pewaukee, Prairieville, Summit, Vernon, and Warren; 
leaving in the county of Milwaukee only the towns of 
Lake, Oak Creek, Franklin, Greenfield, Wawatosa, Gran- 
ville and Milwaukee. 



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110 MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 

The soil, generally speaking, is abundantly rich, and 
adapted to the growth of the usual crops in this climate 
and latitude. East of a line running up Root river, thence 
down Poplar creek, and up the Pishtaka, the land is covered 
with a heavy growth of timber, among which are the fol- 
lowing species or kinds : hard and soft maple, white birch, 
hickory (two kinds), white and red cedar, white and red 
beech, black and white walnut, white and yellow pine, 
tamarack, sycamore, hackberry, poplar,* balm of Gilead,f 
aspen, J white, red, burr and pin oak, bass-wood, common 
and slippery elm. Several of these, as the red cedar, pine, 
and sycamore, § are, however, not very often found. West 
of the line above described, the country consists of oak 
openings, interspersed with small prairies, except in the 
town of Oconomewoc. The oak most usual on the open- 
ings, are the white oak and burr oak (Quercus macrocarpa); 
but these species are seldom mixed, and the kind of tree 
gives name to the openings ; thus we say " white oak 
openings," or " burr oak openings. " There is believed to 
be a difference in the character of the soil on the different 
kinds of openings, as well as on the prairies. 

The shore of Lake Michigan, in this county, consists of 
a bank of clay, from twenty to one hundred feet in height, 
and as nearly perpendicular as the nature of the material 
will admit. From this the country gradually rises, as 
we pass westward, until we attain the summit between the 
lake and Rock river, which is three hundred and sixteen 
feet above the level of the lake. West of this summit the 
country maintains nearly a uniform level, or has but a 
moderate inclination towards Rock river. This summit is 
believed to be the lowest point in the dividing ridge between 
the waters of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi in this 

* Populus grandidentata. f P. lasvigata. J P. tiemuloides. 

§ Only one sycamore, or button-wood tree, has been observed by 
the author in Wisconsin — and that was destroyed in clearing the 
farm of A. Sweet, Esq., near Milwaukee. 



MILWAUKEE COUNTY. Ill 

Territory, except at the portage between the Wisconsin 
and Neenah rivers. The surface of the country in this 
county is broken by the valleys of several streams, mostly 
running towards the south ; but these valleys are usually 
not very much depressed below the general level. By 
passing up the Menomonee valley, and across the head 
branches of the Pishtaka, a canal or railroad may reach 
the summit by a very gradual and uniform ascent. The 
valleys of the Menomonee and Bark rivers approach each 
other at the north (almost circling the head waters of the 
Pishtaka), as if for the purpose of inviting improvement, 
by canal or railroad, in this direction. Some of the highest 
points in the western part of the county are probably five 
hundred feet above Lake Michigan. 

The whole county is based upon limestone, mostly of a 
light bluish-grey color, and disposed in thin, nearly hori- 
zontal layers or strata. It is an excellent building material, 
and affords good lime. Some quarries afford stone full of 
small cavities, rendering it unfit for polishing ; but it is used 
for works of a coarser kind, and it is more easily penetrated 
by heat in the manufacture of lime, in consequence of these 
cavities. The lime made from it is very pure and white. 

There are thirteen post-offices now established in this 
county — at Delafield, Greenfield, Kewaunee, Menomonee 
Falls, Milwaukee, Muskego, Mequanigo, New Berlin, Oak 
Creek, Prairieville, St. Mary's Summit, Vernon, Brookfield, 
and Eagleville. 

Besides Milwaukee, the county seat, there are several 
smaller villages in the county, the principal of which are 
Prairieville, Mequanigo, Summit, Delafield, Oconomewoc, 
Oak Creek, Waterville, &c. 

Prairieville is situated on the Pishtaka (or Fox) river, 
on the site of an old Indian village, sixteen miles west from 
Milwaukee. It is at the head of a beautiful prairie, occu- 
pying the valley of the river, which here has a descent of 
ten feet in the distance of half a mile. The water power 



112 MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 

thus afforded, is used to propel one of the largest flouring 
mills in the Territory. The population is now probably 
several hundred, and many new and handsome dwelling- 
houses are annually erected. There are here three hotels^ 
five churches, an academy, a saw-mill, several stores, and 
a weekly newspaper, devoted to the cause of the " Liberty 
Party." In 1846 a college was incorporated here, called 
Carrol College. 

In 1S41, Prairieville exported about 7,000 barrels of 
flour, 250 of pork, and 12,000 pounds of hides, valued in 
all at thirty-eight thousand eight hundred and forty dollars. 

The merchandise, &c, imported during the same year, 
was estimated at twenty-five thousand seven hundred dol- 
lars. 

Milwaukee, which is now incorporated as a Crry, is sit- 
uated on the river of the same name, near its mouth, or 
entrance into the Milwaukee bay of Lake Michigan, ninety 
miles north from Chicago, Illinois ; one hundred and four- 
teen miles from Green Bay, and about eighty miles due 
east from Madison. It was laid out as a village in 1835, 
and the settlement was not commenced until that year ; but 
such was the rapidity with which the population increased, 
that in June of the succeeding year, the number of inhabit- 
ants was one thousand two hundred and six ; and in Sep- 
tember, 1843, six thousand and sixty-eight. No town or city 
in the United States has grown up with anything like the 
rapidity of Milwaukee. Within ten years from the time 
when the first family arrived here, with a view to perma- 
nent residence, we see a city with a population of at least 

TEN THOUSAND. 

The city of Rochester, in Western New York, has often 
been referred to as having increased more rapidly in wealth 
and population than any other in the world — and perhaps 
she has been entitled to that distinction. Mr. O'Reilley, 
who has written a very valuable book, entitled " Sketches 
of Rochester and Western New York," asks exultingly, 



MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 113 

" Where, in what place, through all the broad and fertile 
West, can there be shown any town which has surpassed 
Rochester in the permanent increase of population, busi- 
ness and wealth V 1 We may answer the question by 
making a little comparison. 

Rochester was laid out in 1812, and in 1816, or four 
years, the population was three hundred and thirty-one. 

In 1820, or eight years, the population was fifteen hun- 
dred. 

Milwaukee was laid out in 1835, and in 1839, or four 
years, the population was fifteen hundred — or as much in- 
crease in four years, as Rochester had in eight. But in 
1843, or eight years, the population of Milwaukee was 
over six thousand, or four times as much as Rochester 
during the same period. 

The city commences about a mile above the mouth of 
the river, at a place called Walker's Point, and extends about 
a mile and a half along the river. Below Walker's Point, 
the river is bordered by impassable marshes. The ground oc- 
cupied by the town is uneven, rising from the river to the 
height of from fifty to one hundred feet, thus affording very 
beautiful situations for residences, commanding a full view 
of the town and bay, with its shipping. But few of these sites 
have yet been occupied and improved, as their peculiar im- 
portance and interesting views w T ould lead us to expect. 
Along the base and front of these hills are a great number of 
springs of pure water, sufficient, if collected into a reservoir, 
to supply the wants of a considerable population. The river 
is sufficiently wide and deep to accommodate a large 
amount of shipping, and. continues so for some distance 
above the city. At the head of this navigable portion of 
the river, a dam has been built by the Milwaukee and Rock 
River Canal Company, which raises the water twelve feet 
above high water, and causes a slack water navigation ex- 
tending two miles further up the stream. A canal of one 
mile and a quarter brings this water into the town on the 
6* 



114 MILWAUKEE COUNTY 

west side of the river, and creates there a water power 
which is estimated to be equal to about one hundred runs 
of mill-stones ; and the canal has a width and depth suffi- 
cient to pass almost the whole bod} r of water into the river. 
The manufactories erected on this canal, have the advan- 
tage of being located on the immediate bank of the river, 
and may be approached by the largest steamboats navigat- 
ing the Great Lakes — thus affording advantages not usually 
found associated in the western country. 

The following statement exhibits the value of the prin- 
cipal articles of imports and exports at Milwaukee, from 
the first settlement in 1835, to the end of the year 1841, as 
ascertained by a committee of the Corporation : 



Years. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


1835-6 


$588,950 


$26,145 


1837 


641,235 


47,745 


1838 


783,458 


47,690 


1839 


866,740 


43,568 


1840 


1,147,803 


53,828 


1841 


1,805,277 


186,777 



Since 1841, no estimate has been made of the amount 
of business done ; but judging from the increased number 
of business houses, we may suppose that it has kept pace 
with the increase of population. The principal items em- 
braced in this statement of importations are, merchandise, 
lumber, salt, fish, &c. The principal items of exportation 
are, merchandise, lard, flour, wheat, pork, furs, &c. The 
first exportation of flour was in 1839, and in this year com- 
menced also the exportation of lead brought here by waggons 
over land, from the mining district about Mineral Point 
In 1841, copper was added to the list of exports ; and the 
amount of lead, shot, and copper shipped here during that 
year, was 1,768,175 pounds. 

The following is a statement of the amount of money 
received at the Milwaukee Land Office, for sales of public 
land, during each year since the office was opened s 



MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 



115 



Years. 


Amount. 


1836 


. $88,432 10 


1837 . 


90,131 81 


1838 


69,350 24 


1839 . 


785,950 57 


1840 


. 138,661 02 


1841 . 


103,547 98 


1842 


. 148,986 64 


1843 . 


192,401 11 


1844 


. 245,145 26 


1845 . 


358,753 00 



Total, $2,221,359 73 

It will be observed that this is about two thirds of the 

whole proceeds of sales of public land in this Territory, as 

exhibited in this work, page 31. 

The number of arrivals of steamboats and other vessels, 

at Milwaukee, were noted by persons interested in such 

matters, during five or six years, as follows : 

Years. Steamboat arrivals. Schooners, &c. 

1835 2 80 

1836 19 193 

1837 97 290 

1838 126 137 

1839 182 118 

1840 174 

Since this time the number has been gradually increasing 
until there were, in 1S45, about one thousand arrivals of 
steamboats and other vessels. 

Appropriations have been made by Congress for the con- 
struction of a harbor at Milwaukee, and considerable pro- 
gress has been made in the work. When this is com- 
pleted, the largest steamboats can enter the river, and land 
at any of the wharves within the town. Several piers of a 
temporary kind have been constructed by individual enter- 
prise, at which much of the commercial business is now 
done ; and, owing to the great distance of the public harbor 
from the city (being about a mile below the first ware- 



116 MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 

houses), it is probable that the business will continue to be 
done at these piers to some considerable extent, even after 
the harbor is completed. 

In April, 1845, a fire occurred on East Water street be- 
tween Michigan and Huron streets, at which about one 
hundred thousand dollars worth of property was destroyed ; 
but the space thus left vacant was in less than one year 
nearly all filled with substantial brick buildings, three, four, 
and five stories high. 

There is in Milwaukee one daily newspaper, and another 
about to be commenced ; and three weekly : one of the 
latter in the German language. 

The Milwaukee Bay is a semicircular indentation of 
Lake Michigan, at Milwaukee, about six miles across, and 
three miles deep. The north and south points or capes 
protect the shipping from the effects of all storms or gales 
of wind, except those from the east, which seldom occur. 
The bottom is clay, affording good anchorage ground. The 
mouth of the river is about half a mile below the middle of 
this bay. It is supposed by many that all the space be- 
tween the mouth of the river and the town, now occupied 
by impassable marshes, was once a portion of this bay, and 
there are many facts that go to substantiate, or render pro- 
bable, this suggestion. It has been sounded to the depth 
of forty-two feet, without finding bottom ; the apparent 
bottom, a few feet below the surface, being only an accu- 
mulation of the roots of grass and weeds floating on the 
water, and soft mud below. 

The rivers and creeks of Milwaukee county are as fol- 
lows : 

Bark rifer, and Oconomewoc creek, running in a 
southwesterly direction, through the western part of the 
county, into Rock river ; Milwaukee river, and the Me- 
nomonee river, running in a southeasterly direction 
through the eastern part of the county into Lake Michi- 
gan ; and between these lie the Pishtaka or Fox river 



MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 117 

and its branches, which run south, into Racine county. 
Root river also takes its rise in this county. Among the 
streams of less importance are the Kinnickinnic creek, 
which enters the Milwaukee river at the mouth ; Mequan- 
igo creek, a branch of the Pishtaka, in the town of the 
same name ; Muskego creek, or outlet ; Oak creek, a tri- 
butary of Lake Michigan ; Pewaukee outlet ; Poplar 
creek, a branch of the Pishtaka, in Brookfield ; and the 
head waters of the Supernong, a branch of Bark river. 

The Menomonee river rises in the southern part of 
Washington county, and running in a southeasterly direc- 
tion through the towns of Menomonee, Granville, and 
Wawatosa, enters the Milwaukee river, within the city 
limits of Milwaukee. It is a fine little stream, affording 
many valuable mill privileges, several of which are already 
improved. Several limestone quarries have been opened 
along its banks, which are usually high. It receives a 
branch in the town of Granville, called the " East Branch ;" 
and above that point the valley is much contracted in 
width, there being no bottom lands on either side. Below 
the East Branch, the level or bottom lands are usually 
about half a mile in width. 

At the place called the Menomonee Falls, 15 miles from 
Milwaukee, this river passes between perpendicular banks 
of limestone, sometimes thirty feet in height. There is a 
fall here of forty-eight feet, in the space of half a mile, and 
mills have been erected here. There is no perpendicular 
fall of water. The limestone may be quarried in layers of 
any desired thickness, and much of it is of an excellent quality 
for building, and even for ornamental purposes, being hard, 
and of a uniform texture, resembling marble. Some layers 
are filled with small cells or cavities, occasioned probably 
by the decay of some mineral substance that once filled 
them. This variety is probably the best for the manufacture 
of lime, requiring less fuel than the more compact variety. 

There is a group of fine lakes in the western part of this 



118 MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 

county, and several others in the different parts of the 
county, as follows : 

Crooked lake, on Bark river, one mile west of Neman* 
bin lake— not represented on the plats of public surveys. 

Gold lake (Wissauwa) on the line between Jefferson 
and Milwaukee counties. It discharges its waters through 
a small stream into Bark river. It is three miles around, 
one mile and a fourth long, and has an area of two hundred 
and seventy acres. 

Kauchee lake, on the Oconomewoc creek, next above 
the Oconomewoc lake, having a small lake called Mouse 
lake, near its northeast corner. It has a triangular shape, 
each side being about one and a half miles long, and a nar- 
row bay extends half a mile from its southern extremity. 
It occupies nine hundred and fifty-seven acres, and has a 
periphery of five miles and three quarters. At the outlet 
of this lake a dam has been built, which has raised its 
waters above their original level. 

La Belle lake, or the " beautiful lake," is the lower and 
largest of the Oconomewoc lakes, being two and a half miles 
long, one and a fourth wide, and occupying an area of a little 
more than two sections or square miles. It is six miles and 
a quarter around its shores. A town has been laid out at 
the eastern extremity of this lake, called Oconomewoc, 
where a dam across the creek produces a water power of 
considerable force. The west end of the lake is only one 
and a half miles from Rock river, and they might be con- 
nected by a canal. The river is fifteen feet lower than the 
lake, and the summit ridge is twenty-five feet higher than 
the lake, as ascertained by levelling. 

Labkaugh (Beaver) lake lies half a mile east from 
Pine lake, on which it discharges its waters. It is eighty- 
three chains long, and sixty-nine wide, with a circumfer- 
ence of three and one-fourth miles, and occupying an area 
of four hundred and twenty-three acres. 

The Mequanigo lake is an expansion of the Pishtaka 



MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 119 

river, near the village of Mequanigo, one and a half miles 
long, and half a mile wide. It lies principally within an 
extensive marsh. 

Mouse lake, so called, probably, from its diminutive 
size, is one of the Oconomewoc group, one and three-fourth 
miles in circumference, fifty-three chains long, and occupy- 
ing one hundred acres of surface. It lies near the Kauchee. 

Monish lake lies one mile southwest from Muskego 
lake. It is a small lake, forming the source of a branch of 
Muskego creek. 

Muskego is one of the largest lakes in the county, occu- 
pying three thousand one hundred and sixty-acres, or nearly 
five sections. It is three and seven-eighths miles long, two 
wide, and eleven miles around. It discharges its waters 
through Muskego creek, into the Pishtaka, at Rochester, 
in Racine county. 

Nagowicka lake is near the centre of the town of 
Delafield, two miles and a quarter long, by three-fourths 
broad, and occupies an area of six hundred and ninety 
acres. It is five miles and a quarter around. Bark river 
runs through it transversely, and it contains a small island, 
w r hich adds much to the beauty of the lake. The shores 
are high and covered with scattered trees, presenting a fine 
prospect to the eye. Its surface is three hundred and four 
feet above Lake Michigan. 

Nashotah (Twin) lakes— two small lakes lying north of 
Nemahbin lake, near the east line of the town of Summit. 
The north lake is two hundred and ninety-one feet above 
Lake Michigan, sixty-seven chains long, thirty-one wide, 
and has a periphery of two miles. On the east bank of this 
lake is the Episcopal College, recently established. The 
south lake is seventy-five chains long, twenty-seven wide, 
and has a periphery of two miles and a quarter. 

Nemahbin lake lies near the east line of the town of 
Summit, and is quite similar, in many respects, to the Na- 
gowica lake. Bark river passes through it transversely ; 



120 MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 

and it has an island covered with trees of a different 
kind from those found in the surrounding country. It is 
five and a half miles around, two miles long, three-fourths 
of a mile wide, and covers five hundred and twenty-eight 
acres. Its surface is two hundred and eighty-nine feet 
above Lake Michigan. 

North lake (or Shunakee) lies north of Pine lake, in 
the town of Warren, is one mile and a quarter long, three- 
fourths of a mile wide, and has an area of five hundred 
and eighty-one acres. The Oconomewoc creek passes 
through this lake. 

Oconomewoc lake is the most southern of the group of 
lakes, on the creek of the same name, being in the north 
part of township seven, range seventeen. It is one mile 
and three-fourths long, three-fourths of a mile wide, and 
has a periphery of six and three-fourth miles, and an area 
of seven hundred and fifty acres. Its surface is two hun- 
dred and eighty-two feet above Lake Michigan. 

Pewaukee lake (or Pewaukee-wee-ning — lake of 
shells), so named by the observing Indians, on account of 
the great quantity of small shells found in the sand along 
the shore. These shells are not snail shells,* and hence 
Snail lake (as it is sometimes called) is an incorrect trans- 
lation of the Indian name. It is four miles and a half long, 
and has an average width of about three-fourths of a mile. 
The coast line around it is eleven and one-sixth miles, and 
its area is three and one-third square miles, or sections. It 
lies in the towns of Delafield and Pewaukee, at an eleva- 
tion of two hundred and sixty-three feet above Lake Mi- 
chigan. It is supplied almost entirely by springs, and dis- 
charges about three hundred cubic feet of water per min- 
ute, through the Pewaukee outlet into the Pishtaka river. 

* Snails are land animals, and not aquatic. The shells found here 
are bleached and mixed with small particles of white limestone. 
They are species of the genera Paludina, Valvata, Planorbis, Mela- 
nia, Cyclas, and fragments of Anodonta. 



MILWAUKEE COUNTY. 121 

A dam has been erected, however, at the foot of this lake, 
which has raised its waters about four feet. It is surround- 
ed by high, well wooded hills, rendering the scenery about 
it highly beautiful and interesting. 

Around this lake at many places, as well as on other 
lakes in Wisconsin, may be observed a singular wall of 
round stones, or boulders, laid up with such regularity as to 
suggest the idea of being the work of art. A little further 
observation, however, will show that these walls are made 
by the expansion of the ice during the winter, which has a 
tendency to push them upon the shore. The sandy ridges 
around many lakes are caused in the same way. The pro- 
cess may be observed in a very cold day in the winter. 

Pine lake lies immediately north of the Nagowicka* 
two and a quarter miles long, three-fourths of a mile wide, • 
five miles and a quarter round, and has an area of six hun- 
dred and ninety acres — being exactly the same as the Na- 
gowicka. The Indian name is Chenequa, or Pine, given in 
consequence of a few pine trees having been found on a 
small neck of land, or island in this lake. 

Powack lake is about three-fourths of a mile in diame- 
ter, lying one mile northwest from Muskego lake. 

Round lake lies two miles west of Nemahbin. 

Silver lake lies three miles west of the Neshotah lake, 
in the town of Summit ; is one mile long, five-eighths wide, 
two miles and five-eighths in circumference, and has an area 
of two hundred and seventy-five acres. 

Tuck-kip-ping lake is in the northeast part of the town 
of Warren. Its length is nearly two miles, width three- 
fourths, and periphery five and a half miles. Its area is 
five hundred and eleven acres. 

The whole number of lakes in this county is thirty-eight. 



122 RACINE COUNTY. 

RACINE COUNTY 

Is the most southern of the lake counties, and occupies 
the southeast corner of the Territory. It is bounded on 
the north by Milwaukee county, east by Lake Michigan, 
south by the State line of Illinois, and west by Walworth 
county ; or it includes townships one, two, three, and four, 
in ranges nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, and 
twenty-three. The jurisdiction of this county, as well as 
all the others bounding on Lake Michigan, extends to the 
State line of Michigan, in the middle of the lake. Racine 
county is twenty-four miles wide, from north to south, and 
has an average length of twenty-five and two-third miles, 
and therefore an area of six hundred and sixteen square 
miles, or sections. The length of coast in this county is 
twenty-six and one-half miles. The country is generally 
even, or slightly rolling, and is almost destitute of timber. 
Burr oaks, hickory, &c, are found in occasional groves, and 
the remainder is prairie. Beds of limestone are found along 
some of the streams. 

This county was set off from Milwaukee in 1836, and 
was then organized as a separate county. The population 
in 1838 was two thousand and fifty-four ; in 1840 it had in- 
creased to three thousand four hundred and seventy-five ; 
and in 1842 it had almost doubled, being six thousand three 
hundred and eighteen. Since that period the increase of 
population has been very considerable, so that it is now es- 
timated at twelve thousand. 

The villages in Racine county are Racine, Southport, 
Rochester, Burlington, Waterford, &c. 

Racine, the seat of justice of the county, and the oldest 
settlement, is situated on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of 
Root river, occupying mostly a level plain, lying about fifty 
feet above the level of the lake. It is twenty-five miles 
south from Milwaukee, ten miles from Southport, and one 
hundred and fifty miles, by the United States road, from the 



RACINE COUNTY. 123 

Mississippi, at Sinipee. The village was incorporated in 
1841. The citizens have, with but very little aid from the 
government, nearly completed a harbor at this place, in a 
permanent and durable manner — the piers being of the same 
kind as those built under the direction of the Topographical 
Bureau. At the extremity of the piers there is twelve feet 
depth of water — sufficient for all purposes of navigation. 
There is a reef of rocks in the lake off this place, about a 
mile and a half long and half a mile wide, which, is sup- 
posed to be useful in protecting the harbor from the effects 
of storms. The river, within the bar, is represented as be- 
ing wide and deep, and like most of the other tributaries of 
Lake Michigan, lies on a level with the lake for some dis- 
tance above, forming a convenient and safe harbor for ves- 
sels. Above this slack water the river runs over beds of 
yellowish limestone, forming rapids, and affording water 
power sufficient to propel a considerable amount of ma- 
chinery. 

The amount of commercial business done each year, from 
1836 to 1841 inclusive, as stated by Col. J. J. Abert, chief 
of the Topographical Bureau at Washington, is as follows: 



Years. 


Imports. 


Exports. 


1836 


$52,835 


#225 


1837 


49,895 


1,000 


1838 


28,340 


1,400 


3 839 


52,920 


2,000 


1840 


59,944 


5,750 


1841 


108,898 


25,041 



The following statement of the trade of this place for 
1842, is from the Racine Advocate, of December 28, 1842, 
and will convey a proper idea of the kinds and extent of 
business done at Racine : 



IMPORTATIONS. 

175 tons of merchandize, 
2,000 barrels of salt, 
2,423,000 feet of lumber, 



124 RACINE COUNTY. 

1,405 thousand of shingles, 
850 tons of household furniture, 
350 " of machinery and farming utensils. 



38,000 bushels of wheat, 
5,000 " of oats, 

800 barrels of flour, 

350 " of pork, 

100 « of beef, 
20,000 pounds of dry hides, 
20,000 « of lead, 
10,000 " of shot. 

The population of Racine was ascertained, in October, 
1845, to be two thousand five hundred and nine. 

The amount of trade at Racine has very considerably- 
increased since 1S42, especially in the exportation of wheat, 
flour, and beef; and wool has recently been added to the 
list of exported products. 

Southport is situated on the lake shore, thirty-five 
miles from Milwaukee, and fifty-five from Chicago, in 
Illinois. It is the most southern place in Wisconsin at 
which it is supposed a harbor can be built — hence its 
name. It was commenced in 1836, and was incorporated 
in 1841. The population is now estimated at but little 
less than 3,000, having partaken largely of the* increase 
of population within the last few years, as in 1840 it was 
only 337. 

For the accommodation of the commercial business of 
this place, a pier was constructed in 1841, consisting of a 
plank-way or bridge, resting on piles driven into the bot- 
tom of the lake. This kind of improvement was first sug- 
gested by Mr. P. B. Cahoon, of Southport, and has since 
been adopted with much advantage at many other places. 
The pier extends sufficiently far into the lake to be ap- 
proached by the largest vessels, and the plank-way is ele- 



RACINE COUNTY. 125 

vated sufficiently above the water to be free from any 
danger on account of the waves. Another pier of the same 
kind has since been built ; and a permanent harbor has 
been commenced, for which two appropriations have been 
made by Congress. 

There are no stone quarries or water privileges in the 
vicinity of Southport, but the surrounding country is a 
rich and fertile prairie, well adapted for all purposes of 
agriculture. The merchants of Southport supply a portion 
of the people of northern Illinois, as well as southern Wis- 
consin, with their commodities. 

The shipments from Southport in 1844 are stated as 
follows : 

122,429 bushels of wheat, 
1 ,235 barrels of flour, 
86,750 pounds of hides, 
3,907 " of wool, 
500 dollars worth of furs, 
200 " « of potatoes, 

14 barrels of cranberries. 

The value of exports for 

1843, was $64,240. 

1844, " 93,504. 

The shipment of wheat from this place was begun in 
1841, and has gradually increased, so that the amount is 
estimated for 1S45 at about two hundred and forty thou- 
sand bushels. 

Rochester is a thriving little village, situated on both 
sides of the Pishtaka river, at the entrance of the Muskego 
outlet, and at the crossing of the United States road from 
Racine to the Mississippi ; twenty-four miles from Racine, 
twenty-eight miles from Milwaukee, and forty-one from 
Janesville, on Rock River. Water power is obtained at 
this place on the river, and also on the Muskego outlet. 



126 RACINE COUNTY. 

It is to be regretted that the good citizens of this place 
have not adopted its Indian name, Waukeesha ; and it 
may be hoped that they will show their good taste by doing 
so whenever the village is incorporated. 

Burlington is situated on the west side of the Pishtaka, 
at the entrance of the Geneva outlet, six miles below 
Rochester. 

Waterford is a small village on the west side of the 
Pishtaka, a short distance above Rochester, where there is 
a flouring mill, a saw-mill, woollen factory, &c. 

Post-offices have been established at the following 
places : Aurora, Burlington, Bristol, Caledonia, Ives' 
Grove, Lakeville, Mount Pleasant, Pleasanf Prairie, Ra- 
cine, Rochester, Salem, Salona, Southport, and Yorkville. 

The town system of government is adopted in this 
county, and the towns are : 

Black Hawk, township four in range twenty-two, and the east 
half of range twenty-one. 

Brighton, township two and sections twenty-nine to thirty-two, 
inclusive, in range twenty. 

Burlington, parts of townships two and three in range nineteen 
and twenty. 

Caledonia, township four in range twenty-two. 

Mount Pleasant, township three in range twenty-two. 

Paris, township two in range twenty-one. 

Pike, township two in range twenty-two. 

Pleasant Prairie, township one in range twenty-two. 

Racine, townships three and four in range twenty-three. 

Rochester occupies the northwest corner of the county, and is 
nine miles long (east and west) and eight miles wide. 

Salem, township one in range twenty. 

Wheatland, township one, and two miles of township two, in 
range nineteen. 

Yorkville, township three in range twenty-one, and the east half 
of range twenty. 

There are four weekly newspapers published in Racine 
county — two at Racine and two at Southport. 



RACINE COUNTY, 127 

The statistics of the county of Racine, as ascertained in 
1840, are as follows : 539 horses and mules, 4,506 neat 
cattle, 340 sheep, 6,549 swine ; 2 commission houses, 19 
stores and groceries, 2 lumber yards, 2 grist-mills, and 13 
saw-mills. The products of 1839 were 36,099 bushels of 
wheat, 1,796 of barley, 41,028 of oats, 342 of rye, 3,481 
of buckwheat, 30,168 of Indian corn, 53,667 of potatoes ; 
35S pounds of wool, 140 pounds of wax, 4,627 tons of 
hay, 6,051 pounds of maple sugar ; and the produce of 
dairies was estimated at ten thousand and thirty dollars. 

Wind lake is the largest of the lakes in Racine county, 
lying one mile below Muskego Lake, on Muskego creek. 
It is six and one-eighth miles in circuit, two miles long, one 
and a half wide, and occupies an area of two square miles. 
There are twenty-four smaller lakes, or ponds, in the west- 
ern part of the county, the Indian names of which are 

Kenongamore, on sections five, six and seven, in town- 
ship four, range twenty, and about one mile long. 

Panyack, near the centre of township three, range 
twenty, one and a fourth miles long, and three-fourths 
wide. 

Tish-shar-gon, in township four, range nineteen, is about 
a mile long, and discharges its waters by a short stream into 
the Pishtaka. 

Waukeesha is a mile in diameter, lying between Wind 
lake and the Kenongamong. 

The Pishtaka river, or " Fox river of the Illinois," is 
the principal stream in this county, running through the 
western tier of townships from north to south. It rises in 
the north part of Milwaukee county, and enters the Illinois 
river at Ottawa. It has been proposed to improve the 
navigation of this river, by means of dams and locks, so as 
to create a slack water from its mouth, where it is connect- 
ed with the Illinois and Michigan canal, as far as the rapids 
at Prairieville — and there is no practical difficulty in the 
way of accomplishing this important work. From the foot 



128 RACINE COUNTY. 

of the rapids at Prairieville to Elgin, about thirty-five miles 
south of the State line, there is a descent of ninety-six 
feet, or nearly one foot per mile, on an average, measuring 
the course of the rivei . This would require twelve dams, of 
eight feet each, and the average length of each pond would 
be about seven or eight miles. At Elgin, the river is one 
hundred and fifteen feet above Lake Michigan, requiring 
that amount of lockage to unite with the Illinois canal. 

The Des Plaines is another branch of the Illinois river, 
that rises in Racine county. It is usually called the 
O'Plaine. Its name is derived from a species of maple 
called plaine, by the French. Its aboriginal name was 
She-shik-ma-o. 

Root river is about thirty-five miles in length, rising in 
Milwaukee county and entering Lake Michigan at Racine. It 
is quite a rapid stream, as it originates in very high ground ; 
but the small quantityof water renders it of but little value for 
hydraulic purposes, except at the rapids near Racine. It has 
been proposed to increase the quantity of water, by diverting 
the outlet of Muskego Lake into Root river, which, it is said, 
can be done at a small expense — thus robbing the Gulf of 
Mexico of a portion of its legitimate supply for the pur- 
pose of increasing the waters of the Great Lakes. It is 
probable that the citizens of the great Mississippi valley 
would object to this measure, and especially that portion of 
them who reside on and near the Muskego outlet, below 
the proposed point of diversion. No levels have been 
taken, however, to ascertain whether this can be done. It 
has also been proposed to connect the lake with the Pish- 
taka, by way of this outlet, by means of a canal. 

Among the smaller streams in Racine county, are Pike 
creek. South Branch (of Root river), and Skunk creek. 



LAKE MICHIGAN. 129 

LAKE MICHIGAN. 

Having completed the foregoing notices of the counties 
on Lake Michigan, it seems proper here to make some ob- 
servations relative to this lake. It is the only one of the 
great chain of inland seas that lies wholly within the 
United States. Its exact form and dimensions cannot 
be ascertained until the surveys of Wisconsin and Michi- 
gan are united at the north, and the meanders of that por- 
tion of the lake are completed. It is estimated to have a 
length of about three hundred and twenty miles, and a 
mean or average breadth of seventy miles — having, there- 
fore, an area of twenty-two thousand four hundred square 
miles. This is exclusive of Green Bay, which may be 
considered as only a portion of this great lake, having an 
area of about two thousand square miles. The surface of 
Lake Michigan is five hundred and seventy-eight feet 
above the level of the ocean, and its mean depth is esti- 
mated at one thousand feet. The bottom is, therefore, 
about four hundred feet below the ocean level. Its great- 
est width is opposite Milwaukee, where it is nearly one 
hundred miles. 

The length of coast on Lake Michigan, as near as can 
at present be ascertained, is as follows : 

Miles.. 
In Wisconsin, from the State of Illinois to tlie north point of 

Rock Island, at the entrance of Green Bay (correct), . 257 
In Michigan, from Rock Island to the narrowest point of the 

Straits of Mackinaw, . . . . . 159 
Thence to the south line of the State, . . . 462*— 621 

In Indiana, 39 

In Illinois, . 63 

Total, 980 

* The Grand Traverse Bay, included in this estimate, has a coast 
line of one hundred and eleven milesj; but it is only nine miles 
across its entrance into the lake. 
7 



130 



LAKE MICHIGAN, 



To this should be added Green Bay, which has a periphery r , 
in Wisconsin, ...... 200 m. 

in Michigan, 120 " 



320 



Total, ...... 1,300 

To enable the reader to compare this lake with the 
others, the following table is inserted, from the report of 
Mr. S. W. Higgins, State Topographer of Michigan : 





"• 






Eleva- 






Mean 


Mean 


Mean 


tion 


Area in 


LAKES. 


Length. 


Breadth. 


Depth. 


above 


square 




Miles. 


Miles. 


Feet. 


ocean. 


miles 


# 








Feet. 
596 




Lake Superior, . . . 


400 


80 


800 


32,000 


Lake Michigan, . . 


320 


70 


1,000 


578 


22,400 


Green Bay, .... 


100 


20 


50 


578 


2,000 


Lake Huron, . . . 


240 


80 


1,000 


578 


20,400 


Lake St. Clair, . . . 


20 


18 


20 


570 


360 


Lake Erie, .... 


240 


40 


84 


565 


9,600 


Lake Ontario, . . . 


180 


35 


500 


232 


6,300 
93,060 



It is estimated that the water which passes out of Lake 
Erie is the surplus or drainage of an area of 335,515 square 
miles ; and by recent measurement, which appears to have 
been made with sufficient regard for accuracy, it is ascer- 
tained that the quantity of water passing into the Niagara 
river at Black Rock, is 22,440,000 cubic feet per minute,* 
or about eighty and one-eighth cubic miles per annum. 
This is equivalent to fifteen inches perpendicular depth of 
water spread over the whole area of the country drained ; 
and therefore something less than half the annual quantity 
of rain in this portion of the country. From these data, it 
results that an increase of three inches in the quantity of 
rain in a year (other circumstances being the same) would 
cause an increase of 4,488,000 cubic feet per minute at 
Black Rock, or an annual amount of 2,35S,S92,800,000 

* See Silliman's Journal, for January, 1844. 



LAKE MICHIGAN. 131 

cubic feet, and requiring an increased depth of channel at 
that place, of about five feet, to pass this excess of water. 
We know, from observations made with care, that such va- 
riations in the annual quantity of rain do often occur. Need 
we therefore wonder that there is a periodical rise and fall 
of the surface of these lakes 1 There is an annual change 
of level resulting from the same cause. In winter, when 
the supply of water to the lakes is very much diminished, 
they sink ; and during the early part of the summer they 
attain their greatest elevation, resulting from the melting of 
snow, and from the spring rains. 

The question whether there is a regular tide on the 
lakes, still remains undecided. That there are strong and 
variable currents in Lake Michigan, has been known ever 
since the days of Hennepin ; and sailors often discover that, 
upon casting anchor, their vessels turn around against the 
wind by the force of this current. This of course will only 
happen when the wind is light, and in a direction opposed 
to the current. It is evident that this current cannot be 
caused by the passage of the waters of the river through 
the lake, especially in Lake Michigan, which may be con- 
sidered as a branch, and not a part of the great river that 
connects the lakes ; and besides, the current is as often in 
a direction up the lake as down it. What then can be the 
cause of this constant motion of the water 1 Is it a tidal 
wave 1 

It is believed that this phenomenon may be fully ac- 
counted for by observing the effects of the storm-winds on 
the lake. A heavy northeast wind, which is by for the 
most common, will cause an accumulation of waters at the 
south end of the lake. This excess of water being acted 
upon by gravitation, seeks its level, and returns with great 
force towards the north — hence causing an undulation, or 
tide, which perhaps will continue to ebb and flow until 
another storm will act upon the lake, and produce the same 
results, keeping the water in constant motion, and causing 
it to rise and fall at particular places as much as four feet. 



132 LAKE MICHIGAN. 

Wherever any rock is found in places on the immediate 
shore of this lake, it is invariably limestone, which usually 
lies near the surface of the water, and never forms high 
cliffs, like those of the Mississippi river. On the west 
shore, the rock is covered, from twenty to one hundred 
feet, by a deposit of clay, and on the east, or Michigan 
side, it supports about the same depth of loose moving 
sand. The action of the waves upon the west shore is 
constantly wearing it away at the base, causing large masses 
to fall into the water, where it is worn down and deposited 
in the bottom of the lake. Hence this bank is uniformly as 
near perpendicular as the nature of the material will admit. 
It is impossible to climb it, in most places, and it is as often 
dangerous to approach too near the margin ; the earth on 
which you stand may soon be precipitated a hundred feet 
into the water of the lake. 

While the water is thus wasting away the west shore, it 
is constantly causing an accumulation of sand on the east 
shore ; which being thrown up by the waves during heavy 
seas, soon becomes dry, and is carried inland by the action 
of the winds. This loose sand forms hills, varying in 
height from ten to one hundred and fifty feet, whose forms 
are constantly changing by the moving of the sand by the 
winds ; and it is remarked that the sand is gradually en- 
croaching upon the land, and may, unless some sufficient 
barrier is opposed to its progress, eventually spread over a 
considerable portion of the State of Michigan.* 

Lake Michigan may, therefore, be considered as adopt- 

* This kind of calamity is prevented in Holland, by sowing the sand 
hills ordunes annually, with the seed of a reedy grass (Arundo armaria), 
which finds in the sand a kind and congenial soil. The roots soon 
spread, strike deeply into the ground, and so intertwine that the 
sand is held firmly between them ; and as the growth of the grass is 
luxuriant, the decomposition of its successive crops renders the soil 
(it is said) sufficiently rich to produce potatoes, and to bear planta- 
tions of firs. (See Report of Capt. G. W. Hughes, to the Topo- 
graphical Bureau, 1843.) 



LAKE MICHIGAN. 133 

ing the spirit of the age, and moving to the west ! Whether 
the encroachment on Wisconsin is balanced by the accumu- 
lation in Michigan, or whether the lake is increasing or 
diminishing in width, cannot easily be determined. As the 
ground rises immediately west of the shore, and is based 
upon limestone rock, lying at a considerable elevation above 
the water, it is evident that the progress of the lake, in that 
direction will soon be stopped. 

While the Topographers of Ohio and Michigan are able 
to trace ancient lake beaches around Lake Erie, having 
an elevation of about one hundred and eight feet above the 
present surface of the water, we cannot find evidence about 
Lake Michigan of such ancient elevation, but, on the con- 
trary, there are some facts that tend to show that this lake 
was once lower than at present. The appearance about 
the mouths of every considerable stream evinces that they 
once were lower, wearing their beds some fifteen or twenty 
feet below the present surface of the water. The subse- 
quent elevation of the lake has caused the water to set 
back on these rivers, in some cases two or three miles, 
causing deep pools of " back water," and affording con- 
venient basins for the accommodation of shipping. In what 
other way could these river beds have been excavated to 
so great a depth ? Surely the slight current at present 
seen could not have been the cause. 

Lake Michigan now discharges its waters through the 
straits of Mackina (Michillimackinac of older writers) 
into Lake Huron, but there is abundant evidence that it 
once flowed south through the valley of the Illinois, and 
thus contributed to swell the mighty flood of the Father of 
Waters. It is the opinion of some, that there was once a 
barrier across the straits of Mackina, and in those ancient 
days it is probable that Lakes Superior, Huron and Erie, 
may have been tributary to Lake Michigan, and their accu- 
mulated waters were sent down to the valley of the Illinois. 
Facts well known to geologists prove that there have been 



134 LAKE MICHIGAN. 

in former times great changes in the relative elevation of 
land in different places ; some parts having been elevated, 
while others were depressed. Indeed, this operation is now 
going on gradually in some parts of the world. May we 
not, therefore, suppose that similar changes have taken 
place in the region of these lakes 1 A depression of the 
country about the Niagara river of one hundred and eight 
feet, and an elevation of the northern portions of Illinois of 
only forty feet, would produce all the changes here indi- 
cated. These changes of level would reduce Lake Erie to 
the original level of Lake Michigan, and at the same time 
elevate the latter so as to turn its waters into their present 
course. 

The description of Lake Michigan, and the interesting 
facts connected with it, would not be complete without a 
notice of the remarkable succession of sand ridges between 
Chicago and Michigan City, described by Prof. C. U. 
Shepard : 

" On drawing near the head of the lake, by the way of 
the road to Michigan City, we find the surface of the prairie 
invaded far inland by a succession of ancient beaches, 
formed with the utmost regularity as to width and height, 
as well as conformity to the existing shore of the lake. 
Leaving Chicago, the road, for about fifteen miles, is on the 
beach, or just behind it on the border of the level prairie. 
It then begins to diverge from the shore, and passes 
obliquely across a succession of ridges, each resembling a 
turnpike in its rounded form. These ridges are wooded, 
while the intervals between them consist of wet marsh, or 
level prairie. Advantage is taken of the ridges, as far as 
possible, for the course of the road. After proceeding a 
number of miles in a southeasterly direction, the road takes 
a south course at right angles to the coast, and runs for a 
distance of five miles, over about fifty of these ridges. 
They vary from four to ten rods in width, each one, how- 
ever, preserving with exact uniformity, its own breadth, 



LAKE MICHIGAN. 135 

and separated from each other by intervals of from six to 
forty rods. When midway between any two beaches, the 
eye is presented, in opposite directions, with an almost in- 
terminable vista, whose bounding lines of trees are per- 
ceived to be slightly curvilinear, the curvature of the 
ridges corresponding exactly to the broad sweep of the lake 
shore. No visible difference of level is apparent in the 
beaches, while the marshy prairie between them is so low 
and sunken as to be almost impassable, and apparently cor- 
responds in level with the prairie in the rear of Chicago. 

" At the termination of the above series commences a 
new order of ridges, all of which are situated at a some- 
what higher level. They have an average width of only 
one hundred and twenty feet, and are separated by depres- 
sions of the same dimensions. In these, both the ridge and 
the valley are dry and wooded. The road crosses them 
for a distance of one mile, after which, assuming a more 
easterly course, it descends upon a flat prairie, about three 
miles wide. 

" The succession of beaches described, would appear to 
have been occasioned by the action of southerly winds, 
operating on the whole range of the lake, thereby pro- 
ducing an accumulation of water in this region, as well as 
a strong impulsive action upon the bottom of the lake, from 
the motion of the sea towards the shore." 

This explanation, it is believed, would account very 
satisfactorily for the formation of a single beach line, and 
perhaps of an extensive flat of level sandy prairie ; but it 
is difficult to conceive how it should produce a regular suc- 
cession of such beaches, separated by intervening valleys ; 
so that this matter remains to be hereafter explained. 

Lake Michigan is destitute of islands, except a few near 
its northern extremity, and it is unfortunate for the interests 
of navigation that it does not present along its shores many 
deep and narrow bays, or other places of security for ves- 
sels during heavy winds. In this respect, however, its 



136 WALWORTH COUNTY. 

character is quite similar to the other lakes. Navigation 
usually commences in the spring about the middle or last of 
March on this lake ; but as the straits of Mackina remain 
closed with ice after that time, we usually have no arrivals 
from below until about a month later, as shown by the 
following statement of the arrival of the first steamboat 
at Milwaukee, since the first year of their navigating this 
lake : 



1837 


May 28 . 


James Madison 


1838 . 


. April 26 


. Pennsylvania, 


1839 


April 30 . 


Columbus. 


1840 . 


. April 11 


. Chesapeake. 


1841 


April 25 . 


Great Western, 


1842 . 


. March 26 


. Chesapeake. 


1843 


May 8 


Bunker Hill 


1844 . 


. April 10 


. Missouri. 


1845 


April 5 


Hercules. 



Mean or average, April 22 — being about the same time 
that Lake Erie is open at Buffalo. But as that lake is 
open from Cleveland, and the other points west of Buffalo 
to its western extremity, about a month before this time, 
it will be seen, that upon the completion of the railroad 
through Michigan, and the southern railroad in New 
York, the merchants of Wisconsin can receive their spring 
goods, and commence sending off their winter's supply of 
produce, lead, &c, a month earlier than at present. 

We may also look forward to the time, certainly not very 
distant, when this lake will be navigated during the whole 
winter. 

WALWORTH COUNTY 

Is bounded on the north by Milwaukee and Jefferson 
counties ; on the east by Racine ; on the south by the State 
of Illinois ; and on the west by Rock county •, embracing 
the townships numbered one, two, three and four, in the 
ranges numbered fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen 



WALWORTH COUNTY. 137 

It is, therefore, twenty-four miles square, and contains six- 
teen townships, or five hundred and seventy-six square 
miles or sections. It was set off from Milwaukee county 
in 1S36, a.nd organized as a separate county in 1838. 
The population of this flourishing^ounty was then (1838) 
one thousand and nineteen. In 1840, it had more than 
doubled, being two thousand six hundred and eleven ; and 
in 1842, it had almost doubled again, being then four thou- 
sand six hundred and eighteen. It is now estimated to be 
about ten thousand. The county seat is established at 
Elkhorn, which is exactly at the centre of the county. 

This county occupies the high ground, or summit, between 
the waters of the Pishtaka, which runs through Racine 
county east of it, and Rock river, which runs through Rock 
county at the west. It is one of the richest and most import- 
ant agricultural counties in the Territory ; possessing a rich 
soil, with about the proper proportion of timber and prairie 
land to suit the convenience and fancy of the first settlers 
of a new country — hence its rapid settlement. It has no 
abrupt or steep hills, deep valleys, and but little waste 
land of any kind. It is well watered by numerous small 
lakes in the north part of the county, and three larger ones 
at the south part, and by numerous springs and rivulets. 
The position of Walworth county, midway between Lake 
Michigan and Rock river (which will ultimately be made 
navigable), must render it important, by having a choice of 
two markets for the surplus produce. 

The town system was adopted in this county, and for the 
purposes of government it is divided into the following 
towns : 

Bloomfield, township one, range eighteen. 
Darien, township two, range fifteen. 
Delavan, township two, range sixteen, except section one. 
East Troy, township four, range eighteen. 
Sugar Creek, township three, range sixteen, except section 
fchirty-six. 

7* 



138 WALWORTH COUNTY. 

Geneva, township two, range seventeen (except section six), and 
five acres at the southwest corner of township two in range 
eighteen. 

Hudson, township two, range eighteen. 

La Fayette, township three, range seventeen, except section 
thirty- one. % 

La Grange, township four, range sixteen. 

Linn, township one, range seventeen. 

Richmond, township three, range fifteen. 

Sharon, township one, range fifteen. 

Spring Prairie, township three, range eighteen. 

Troy, township four, range seventeen. 

Walworth, township one, range sixteen. 

Whitewater, township four, range fifteen. 

Elkhorn, 'a small town, organized in 1846, embracing four 
sections around the centre point of the county. 

There were in this county in 1840, agreeably to the 
census, 409 horses, 2,861 neat cattle, 410 sheep, 6,380 
swine, 10 stores and groceries, 1 distillery, 3 grist-mills, 
and 7 saw-mills. The products of 1839, were 59,5S0 
bushels of wheat, 1,499 of barley, 35,155 of oats, 205 of 
rye, 1,754 of buckwheat, 40,837 of Indian corn, and 42,4.55 
of potatoes, 3,624 tons of hay, and one pound of reeled 
silk. These statistics will show what crops are usually- 
raised in this county, and the proportion they bear to one 
another. 

Several thriving villages have sprung up in this county, 
the chief of which are Elkhorn, the county seat, at which 
there is published a weekly newspaper ; Whitewater, 
situated near the northwest corner of the county, having 
a good water power well improved ; Geneva, at the outlet 
of Geneva Lake j Delavan, and Troy. 

There are nineteen post-offices in Walworth county : — * 
at Bigfoot, Darian, Delavan, Elkhorn, East Troy, Fairfield, 
Geneva, Goodlet, Granville, Heart Prairie, Hudson, Lyons- 
dale, Round Prairie, Richmond, Sugar Creek, Spring 
Prairie, Troy, Whitewater, and Walworth. 

The principal streams in this county are Honey creek , 



ROCK COUNTY. 139 

Sugar creek, Geneva creek, which unite to form a branch 
of the Pishtaka at Burlington ; and Turtle creek, and 
Whitewater, in the western part of the county. Geneva 
creek is the outlet of a lake of the same name, about 
twelve miles in length, and affords some valuable water 
power. Honey creek and Sugar creek rise in range six- 
teen, and run east parallel with each other about twelve 
miles, and unite near the east line cf the county. 

There are twenty-four lakes in Walworth county, all 
very small, except the three following : 

Geneva lake, eight miles long, and a little more than 
one mile average breadth, covering an area of 5,423 acres, 
or nearly eight and a half square miles ; and having a 
periphery of nineteen miles. It was formerly called Big 
foot lake, from some fancied resemblance of its form to 
that of the human foot. It is supplied mostly from springs, 
not having any considerable tributary. It is principally in 
township one, range seventeen, and its longest diameter 
lies nearly due east and west. Fontana is at the head of 
this lake, and Geneva is at the foot. 

Delavan lake covers an area of fifteen hundred acres, 
or nearly two and one-third miles ; length, two and a half 
miles; width, one mile. It is near the source of Turtle 
creek, a tributary of Rock river, at Beloit. 

Como lake lies two miles north of Geneva lake ; three 
and one-eighth miles long ; average width nearly half a 
mile ; periphery six and three-fourth miles ; and having an 
area of nine hundred and twenty-four acres. 

ROCK COUNTY 
Is bounded on the north by Jefferson and Dane ; on the 
east by Walworth ; on the west by Green county ; and on 
the south by the State of Illinois : embracing townships 
one, two, three and four, in ranges ten, eleven, twelve, 
thirteen and fourteen, being thirty miles long, from east to 
west, and twenty-four miles wide, showing an area of eight 



140 ROCK COUNTY. 

hundred and sixty-four square miles. It derives its name from 
Rock river, which runs through it from north to south near 
the middle of the county. Rock once formed a part of Mil- 
waukee county, from which it was separated in 1836, and 
organized in 1839. The population in 183S was four hun- 
dred and eighty ; in 1840, it was one thousand seven hun- 
dred and one ; and in 1842, it was two thousand eight 
hundred and sixty-seven. It is now estimated at seven 
thousand. 

The county seat is at Janesville, a flourishing village 
with about one thousand inhabitants, situated on the east 
side of Rock river, at the southeast corner of township 
three, range twelve, being near the centre of the couuty. 
It is situated on a flat, or level, about two hundred yards 
wide, between the river and the foot of the bluffs, which 
are about one hundred feet high. The court-house is 
erected on the bluff, giving it a very prominent appearance. 
Janesville is the point at which much of the trade between 
the eastern and western portions of the Territory crosses 
Rock river, and a bridge is now erected for its accommoda- 
tion. The distance from Janesville to Milwaukee is sixty - 
five miles, and it is the same to Racine ; giving the citi- 
zens a choice of two ports on Lake Mickigan, which can 
be reached in the same distance. Janesville is 13 miles 
from Beloit, 41 from Madison, 31 from Monroe, and about 
80 from Mineral Point. A company has been incorporated 
to construct a railroad from this place to the lake shore. 

A very valuable water power has been created here by 
the construction of a dam across the river. 

Beloit is situated on a beautiful plain, on the east side 
of Rock river, near the south line of the Territory, and im- 
mediately above the mouth of Turtle creek, a considerable 
stream, affording a valuable water power within the limits 
of the town. On one side of the town the ground rises 
abruptly some fifty or sixty feet, affording very beautiful 
sites for residences, commanding a view of the town, the 



ROCK COUNTY. 141 

river, &c. In 1843, Beloit contained seven hundred and 
forty-five inhabitants, and it is now estimated to contain 
about twelve hundred. 

The water power here has recently been increased by 
the construction of a dam across Rock river. There are 
two large flouring mills in operation here, one of them built 
of grey limestone ; and this is also the material used in the 
construction of the Congregational Church, which is repre- 
sented as one of the most beautiful churches in Wisconsin. 
A Seminary was incorporated here in 1837, and a manufac- 
turing company in 1839. The society at this place is re- 
presented as excellent, for intelligence, morality and religion. 

A college is about to be established at this place under 
the supervision of the Congregational and Presbyterian 
Churches ; it was incorporated in January, 1846. 

Beloit was incorporated in 1845. 

Rock port is the oldest village or settlement in the 
county, having been commenced in 1836. It is on the 
west side of Rock river, half a mile below Janesville, and 
at the head of a rapid, having about seven feet fall in a dis- 
tance of one and a half miles. 

Post-offices have been established in Rock county at the 
following places : Beloit, Janesville, Johnstown, Milton, 
Union and Warren. 

The land in this county, on the west side of Rock river, 
was offered for sale at Green Bay, in 1835, during the wild 
rage for speculation in lands, and much of it was then sold 
to speculators, who hold it with the hope of an increased 
value, and without making improvements, or occupying 
the land. The best locations being thus taken up, this part 
of the county has been but little settled, although it pre- 
sents many inducements for the farmer. East of Rock 
river the lands were occupied, to a considerable extent, 
before they were brought into market by the government, 
and consequently have fallen into the hands of actual set- 
tlers, and been improved and occupied for useful purposes. 



142 ROCK COUNTY. 

This part of the county is, however, almost one continued 
prairie, that portion not represented on the maps as such 
being but slightly covered with trees or bushes. This 
great prairie, the largest in the Territory, is known as Rock 
Prairies The eastern portion of the county is based on 
limestone ; towards Sugar river, red sandstone is found; 

Agreeably to the census, there were in 1840, in this 
county, 389 horses, 1,804 neat cattle, 131 sheep, 3,560 
swine, 1 distillery, 2 grist-mills and 5 saw-mills ; and the 
produce of the preceding year is stated at 24,702 bushels 
of wheat, 312 of barley, 21,990 of oats, 483 of rye, 741 
of buckwheat, 31,329 of Indian corn, and 28,605 of pota- 
toes ; 2,089 tons of hay, and 1,400 pounds of maple sugar. 

Lake Koshkonong, which lies principally in Jefferson 
county, extends a short distance into Rock ; and there are 
twelve small lakes in the county — none of them, however, 
exceeding a mile in length. Deer Lake, on section twenty, 
in township four, range thirteen, is about a mile long, and 
covers eighty-seven acres. 

The following towns have been established in this county 
by the legislature, the town system of government having 
been adopted by a vote of the people : 

Beloit, township one, in range twelve. 

Bradford, township two, in range fourteen. 

Centre, townships two and three, in range eleven. 

Clinton — township one, in range fourteen. 

Fulton, township four, in range fourteen. 

Janesville, township three, in ranges twelve and thirteen, and 
the north half of township two in range thirteen. 

Johnstown, township three, in range fourteen. 

Lima, township four, in range fourteen. 

Magnolia, township three, in range ten. 

Milton, township four, in range thirteen. 

Newark, township one, in ranges ten and eleven. 

Oak, township four, in range eleven, except sections six, seven, 
eighteen, and the west half of sections five, eight, and seventeen. 

Rock, township two, in range twelve. 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 143 

Spring Valley, township two, in range ten. 

Turtle, township one, and south half of two in range thirteen. 

Union, township four, in range ten, and part of range eleven. 

JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

It is bounded on the north by Dodge county ; east by 
Milwaukee ; south by Walworth and Rock counties ; and 
west by Dane. It is twenty-four miles square, or four 
townships wide, and four long — being townships five, six, 
seven and eight, in ranges thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and 
sixteen. Its area is, therefore, five hundred and seventy-six 
square miles. The county seat is at Jefferson, near the 
" forks" of Rock river, and very near the centre of the 
county. It was set off from Milwaukee county in 1836, and 
organized as a separate county in 1S39. The population of 
Jefferson county, in 1838, two years after the first settle- 
ment was commenced, was four hundred and sixty-eight ; 
in 1840, it had increased to nine hundred and fourteen ; 
and in 1842, to one thousand six hundred and thirty-eight. 
It may now be safely estimated at five thousand. 

That portion of the county lying east of Rock river, 
and north of Bark river, is covered with timber, among 
which may be found some of the finest trees in the Terri- 
tory ; the remainder of the county is " openings," except 
a few square miles near the Whitewater and Scupernong, 
which are prairie. Within the timbered district there is a 
remarkable series of ridges running north and south, and 
crossed by the United States road. In a distance of about 
nine miles, extending through range fifteen and the west 
half of fourteen, the road crosses no less than sixteen of 
these parallel ridges and intervening valleys, averaging, 
therefore, about half a mile apart. There is usually a nar- 
row swamp between them, covered with black ash or tama- 
rack trees. They extend from two to five miles, in a north 
and south direction, and are gradually attenuated at each 
extremity. Along Bark river, immediately south of these 



144 JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

ridges, there are some extensive marshes, which once, pro- 
bably, formed the bottom of a large lake. Other portions 
of Jefferson county are more gently rolling, or level. There 
is much excellent farming land in this county, especially 
along the rivers ; and Rock river valley maintains here the 
high reputation which it so deservedly has further south. 

The geographical position of this county, lying in the 
direct route between Milwaukee, the principal port on Lake 
Michigan, and the capital of the Territory, is believed to 
afford it some advantages ; and with all her other advan- 
tages and sources of wealth, we cannot but anticipate the 
time when Jefferson will be known as one of the principal 
counties. The inhabitants are industrious, enterprising and 
public-spirited ; as is evinced by the fact that, in one year, 
six bridges were built across Rock river and its main branch. 
The statistics collected in 1840, show 100 horses, 1,045 
neat cattle, 32 sheep, 1 ,763 hogs, 1 store, and 4 saw-mills. 
The products of 1839 were, 6,647 bushels of wheat, 406 
of barley, 4,465 of oats, 186 of rye, 118 of buckwheat, 
15,192 of Indian corn, 14,410 of potatoes, 1,S20 tons of 
hay, 13,050 pounds of maple sugar, and fifteen thousand 
seven hundred and eighty dollars worth of lumber. 

The village of Aztalan is situated on the west bank of 
the West Branch, on the United States road leading from 
Milwaukee to the Mississippi, by way of Madison — distant 
from Milwaukee about fifty miles, and from Madison thirty. 
It is very prettily situated, on the sloping bank of the river, 
immediately above the " ancient city" from which it de- 
rives its name. 

This ancient artificial earthwork, consists of an oblong 
enclosure, about five hundred and fifty yards in length, and 
two hundred and seventy-five yards in breadth, lying along 
the bank of the river. The walls are twenty-three feet 
wide at the base, and four or five feet high, having (except 
on the river side) an exterior semicircular enlargement, or 
buttress, and a corresponding interior recess every twenty- 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 145 

seven yards. In some parts of the wall, and especially in 
the buttresses, the earth of which it is composed appears 
to have been mixed with straw, and burned in such manner 
as to resemble slightly burnt brick. There is no evidence 
that this substance was ever moulded into regular form. 
Within this enclosure are several remarkable mounds and 
excavations, and an unusual number of mounds (many of 
them very large) are found in the immediate vicinity, indi- 
cating that this spot was once occupied by a very nume- 
rous population, which continued to reside here for a great 
length of time. The place described as the " termination 
of a sewer about three feet below the surface, and arched 
with stone," appears to be not a regular arch, nor even a 
sewer. It is remarked, that we have yet no evidence that 
the ancient inhabitants of this continent were acquainted 
with the nature and properties of an arch. Aztalan, ac- 
cording to Humboldt, is the ancient name of the country 
from which the people of Mexico called Azteeks, emigrat- 
ed ; and this is described as lying far to the north. Hence 
a little fancy only is necessary to locate this country in 
Wisconsin, and at the place where the ancient works appear 
to be most extensive and interesting. These works were 
first explored, and a description of them published in 1836, 
by N. F. Hyer, Esq. 

Jefferson is situated on the east side of the river, a short 
distance above the junction of the West Branch, and con- 
tains a tavern, store, mechanic's shop, and numerous dwell- 
ings. A dam has been constructed across the river, caus- 
ing a valuable water power, on which a saw-mill has been 
erected. The western termination of the Milwaukee and 
Rock River Canal^ as located, is a short distance above this 
village. 

The village of Watertown is situated on Rock river, near 
the great bend, and at the foot of Johnson's rapids, where 
a dam across the river creates one of the most valuable 
water privileges in the country. The improvements are on 



146 JEFFERSON COUNTY. 

both sides of the river, which is from two hundred to four 
hundred feet wjde, and bordered by steep banks of lime- 
stone rock. The descent on these rapids is twenty-four 
and one-fourth feet ; and the dam creates a head of about 
nine and a half feet. The population of Watertown is 
about five hundred, and no town in this part of the territory 
is improving more rapidly than this. 

Fort Atkinson is a thriving village, situated on both sides 
of Rock river, at the north part of this town, and immedi- 
ately below the mouth of Bark river. It is understood that 
a temporary fort was erected here during the Black Hawk 
war ; hence the name. 

Lake Mills is the name of a village commenced on the 
east side of Rock Lake. Mills have been erected here, the 
water power being created by raising the surface of the lake. 

There are two large and ten small lakes in Jefferson coun- 
ty ; Lake Koshkonong being the largest. This lake may 
be considered as an expansion of Rock river ; eight miles 
long, two and five-eighths miles average width, occupying 
an area of twenty-one sections or square miles, and having 
a periphery, measuring all the sinuosities of the shore, of 
twenty-eight and three-fourths miles. Immediately at the 
entrance of the lake, there is a rapid current extending six 
hundred feet into the lake, with only from two to three feet 
depth of water. Through the remainder of the lake, on 
the usual -channel or track for boats and rafts, the water is 
from four to twelve feet deep. 

Rock lake is two miles and three quarters long, one 
mile and a quarter wide, and covers an area of sixteen hun- 
dred and fifty-three acres, or a little over two and a half 
sections. Its name is derived from the unusual number of 
rocks along the shore, thrown up by the expansion of ice 
in winter, into a ridge, in many places several feet in height. 
It discharges its waters through a small stream in a north- 
easterly direction in the west branch. The shores of this 
lake are high, and present a beautiful prospect to the eye. 



JEFFERSON COUNTY. 147 

Ripley lake, in Oakland, occupies parts of sections five, 
six and seven ; is a mile and a half long, and occupies an 
area of four hundred and ninety-three acres. The coast 
line around it, is four miles and three-eighths. 

Red Cedar lake lies one mile south of Ripley lake 5 
one and a fourth miles long, five and a fourth around ; has a 
very irregular form, and covers an area of five hundred and 
nine acres. It discharges its waters into Lake Koshkonong. 

Craneerry lake is in sections twenty-two, twenty- 
three, and twenty-seven, in township seven, and range six- 
teen ; about which an abundance of cranberries were found 
when surveying the canal through this region. 

Jefferson county is peculiarly favored as it regards rivers. 
Rock river runs in every direction in passing through it — 
entering at the northeast corner, and leaving it at the south- 
west corner ; and the West Branch, or Crawfish, almost 
equal in size to Rock river itself, runs more than half way 
through the county before it unites with the main river. 
The Oconomewoc, a considerable stream, the outlet of a 
series of small lakes in Milwaukee county, runs nearly 
through the town of Union, and then unites with Rock riv- 
er. Johnson's creek is a small stream, affording water suf- 
ficient to propel a saw-mill, at a point on the United States 
road. The Koshkonong creek runs near the west line of 
the county, partly in this and partly in Dane counties. The 
Scupernong and Whitewater are two important branches 
of Bark river ; and Bark river is here a considerable stream, 
affording water power. The Indian name of this river is 
Onakick, or " Peel-bark" river. It rises in Washington 
county, and passing through the northwest part of Milwau- 
kee county, enters Rock river at Fort Atkinson, six miles 
above Lake Koshkonong. A part of its course is through 
some extensive marshes, where it is occasionally lost in the 
tall grass. Its source is on very elevated ground, so that it 
may be used in supplying the summit level of a canal 
across the country in this direction. 



148 JEFFERSON COUNTY 

The Crawfish, or West Branch of Rock river, rises near 
the northwest corner of Dodge county, where it receives 
the waters of Fox lake, and runs directly south, being con- 
fined almost exclusively to one range of townships (range 
fourteen). " In ascending this branch from its mouth, at 
JefFersonj" says Capt. Cram, in his report, " the minimum 
depth of water for six miles, is believed to be not less than 
four feet in low stages. About one and a half miles above 
Aztalan there is a rapid of about two and a half feet fall 
in half a mile. On this rapid, during the lowest stages of 
water, the depth is not over ten inches. Above this rapid 
the stream is tranquil, and has a depth of five feet for about 
ten miles ; above which there occurs a series of rapids with 
only about ten inches of water for half a mile. There is 
an abundance of water in the Crawfish for all purposes of 
navigation, and there is no doubt of its being susceptible of 
being improved within moderate limits of expense.'' 

Post-offices have been established at the fifteen following 
places in Jefferson county : Aztalan, Cold Spring, Fort At- 
kinson, Littleton, Union Centre, Watertown, Farmington, 
Jefferson, Koshkonong, Oakland, Palmyra, Pamelia Four 
Corners, and Bark-River. 

The town system is adopted, and the county is divided 
into ten towns as follows : 

Koshkong — township five, in ranges thirteen and fourteen. 

Bark river — township five, and south half of six in range fif- 
teen. 

Sullivan — township five, and south half of six in range sixteen* 

Oakland — townships six, in range thirteen. 

Jefferson— township six, in range fourteen, and the north half of 
six in ranges fifteen and sixteen. 

Lake Mills — townships seven and eight, in range thirteen. 

Aztalan — townships seven and west half of eight, in range four- 
teen. 

Watertown — townships seven and eight, in range fifteen, and 
the east half of eight in fourteen. 

Concord — township seven, in range sixteen. 

Ixonia — township eight, in range sixteen 



DODGE COUNTY. 149 

DODGE COUNTY. 

So named in honor of General Henry Dodge, first Go- 
vernor of Wisconsin, is bounded on the north by Fond du 
Lac ; on the east by Sheboygan and Washington ; on the 
south by Milwaukee and Jefferson ; on the west by Dane 
and Columbia counties. It is five townships, or thirty 
miles square, embracing townships, numbered nine to thir- 
teen, in ranges numbered thirteen to seventeen, all inclu- 
sive. Its area is nine hundred square miles, or five hun- 
dred and seventy-six thousand acres. Dodge was set off 
from Brown county, in 1836, and organized as a separate 
county in 1S40 ; and organized for judicial purposes in 1845. 
In 183S it had a population amounting to eighteen, and in 
1842 it had increased to one hundred and forty-nine ; but 
such has been the rapid settlement of the county that the 
population is now estimated at five thousand. 

In 1840, there were in Dodge county, 40 horses, 150 
neat cattle, 105 swine ; and the produce of the preceding 
year is stated to be 2,100 bushels of oats, 2,000 of Indian 
corn, 2,425 of potatoes, 500 tons of hay, and five hundred 
dollars worth of skins and furs. 

There are five lakes in Dodge county. The largest is 
Fox lake, lying in the northwest corner township ; about 
three miles long and two wide, and forming the source of 
the Crawfish river. It has nearly a regular oval form, and 
a small island towards the east end.. 

Lake Emily is two and a half miles northwest from Fox 
lake, and is only about three-fourths of a mile in length. 

The Winnebago marsh, lying on Rock River, near its 
source, is principally in this county, and is, perhaps, the 
most extensive marsh in Wisconsin, being fourteen miles 
long, five and a half wide, and covering an area of forty- 
foursquare miles. The river, in passing through it, is often 
divided into several channels, and sometimes it is almost 
impossible to trace it through the high rank grass, &c, with 



150 DODGE COUNTY. 

which the marsh is covered. It occupies parts of town- 
ships twelve, thirteen and fourteen, in ranges fifteen and six- 
teen. 

Rock river enters Dodge county near the head of the 
Winnebago marsh, and runs in a direction almost due south 
through the county, and is here navigable, with the excep- 
tion of a distance of about three-fourths of a mile at Hustis' 
rapids, where there is a fall of nearly seven feet, requiring 
improvement, and affording a water power of great force 
and value. Hustis rapids are about twelve miles below the 
marsh. The bottom of the river here affords excellent 
foundations, and good materials for improvement are found 
near by. 

Beaver Dam river, the outlet of Fox Lake, runs paral- 
lel to Rock river, and about twelve miles west of it. This 
stream also runs through the county, from north to south. 

Ossin river, sometimes, but improperly, called Rock 
river, rises in Washington county, and running westward 
with a remarkably crooked course, enters Rock river in 
township twelve, near the foot of the Winnebago marsh. 

The Rubicon is another branch of Rock river, which 
rises in a small lake near the Musquewoc lake, in Wash- 
ington county, and running west, enters Rock river three 
miles below Hustis' rapids. 

The following remarks relative to Dodge county were 
written by the intelligent editor of the Milwaukee Demo- 
crat, in 1843. 

" This county is situated in the interior, midway between 
Wisconsin river and Lakes Michigan and Winnebago, and 
at present contains more choice locations for farms than can 
be found in any other county in Wisconsin. The Rock 
river runs through the eastern part of Dodge, and expanded 
in the Winnebago marsh, becomes navigable for any boats 
that ever may be made to pass on this stream, to within 
about fifteen miles of Lake Winnebago. The western por- 
tion of the county is watered by the Crawfish and Beaver 



DODGE COUNTY. 151 

dam creeks, on each of which extensive water power may 
be created. Good wells have been obtained at the depth 
of twenty feet, in nearly every part of the county ; and 
springs, and spring brooks, are more abundant than in any 
other portion of Wisconsin. The larger streams are skirt- 
ed by groves of thick and heavy timber, consisting of oak, 
sugar, linn, elm, ash, butternut, hickory and walnut ; while 
the smaller streams run through the choicest tracts of burr 
oak openings and prairies, interspersed with valuable thick- 
ets of pin oaks, which will furnish farmers in their neigh- 
borhood with an excellent and plentiful supply of rail tim- 
ber. Excepting the Winnebago marsh, there is scarcely 
any land in the whole county (thirty miles square) which 
cannot be cultivated. Several causes have hitherto ope- 
rated to prevent the settlement of this district. Its inac- 
cessibility from the lake shore, because of the want of 
roads, may be stated as one cause, while another is to be 
found in the fact that one-half of this county is in the north- 
ern land district, and must be entered at Green Bay, which 
is even more inaccessible from that region than Milwau- 
kee. Until the present year, so far as public notoriety ex- 
tended, Dodge county has been left a terra incognita. Three 
years since, Mr. Hyland opened a wagon road from Water- 
town to the centre of the county, and settled on a small 
prairie which bears his name, whither he was followed by 
a sufficient number of industrious farmers to occupy not 
only the whole of the prairie, but every quarter section ad- 
joining the road opened by this hardy pioneer. About the 
same time six families moved from Fox lake, ten miles 
down the Beaver Dam, and made a settlement, to which 
they gave the name of that stream. This settlement now 
contains twenty-five or thirty families. A saw-mill is in 
successful operation, and preparations are making to build 
a flouring-mill on the same dam during the coming year. 
The stream, which will yield an abundant supply of water, 
and which at this point has between twenty and thirty feet 



152 DODGE COUNTY. 

fall within three-fourths of a mile, may be successfully and 
easily used to any extent in driving machinery. Between 
Hyland's and Beaver Dam, are Rising and Slawson's prai- 
ries, on which are thriving settlements. The settlement 
at Fox lake, which was commenced four or five years 
since under the auspices of Mr. H. Stevens, has languished 
from its remote distance in the northwest corner township, 
and from the injudicious entries by non-residents, rather 
than from any want of choice and superior farming loca- 
tions. There are, however, several substantial farmers in 
the Fox lake and Lake Emily region, and the prospect now 
is, that this inviting part of Dodge county will receive a 
new impetus to its settlement. All these settlements are 
made by immigrants from the eastern states ; and not to 
exceed thirty sections of land in the county are in the 
hands of non-residents." 

So far as the rocks have been exposed to view, limestone 
is found to prevail, and usually of an excellent quality for 
building purposes. 

There are six post-offices already established in this 
county, which only three years since contained less than a 
hundred and fifty inhabitants : at Beaver Dam, Fox lake, 
Lake Emily, Lake Marie, Oak Grove and Waushara. 

The rapidity with which this county has been settled 
and improved within the last three years is truly surprising, 
even to those who are familiar with similar occurrences in 
the western country. Villages have sprung up, roads have 
been opened and improved, water privileges have been oc- 
cupied, and new clearings commenced in all parts of the 
county. 

The township system of government has been adopted, 
and the county is divided into nineteen towns, as follows : 

Ashippun, township nine, in range seventeen. 
Beaver Dam, township eleven and the south half of twelve, in 
range fourteen. 
Burnett, township twelve, in range fifteen. 



ROCK RIVER. 153 

Clyman, township ten, in range fifteen, 

Chester, township thirteen, in ranges fifteen and sixteen. 

Calmus, township eleven and south half of twelve, in range 
thirteen. 

Emmett, township nine, in ranges fourteen and fifteen. 

Elba, township ten, in range thirteen. 

Fairtield, township eleven, in range fifteen. 

Fox Lake, township thirteen and north half of twelve, in rang« 
thirteen. 

Hustisford, township ten, in range sixteen. 

Hubbard, township eleven, in ranges sixteen and seventeen. 

Lebanon, township nine, in range sixteen. 

Lowell, township ten, in range fourteen. 

Le Rot, township twelve and thirteen, in range seventeen 

Portland, township nine, range thirteen, 

Rueicon, township ten, in range seventeen, 

Trenton, township thirteen and north half of twelve, in range 
fourteen. 

Williamstown, township twelve, in range sixteen, 

ROCK RIVER 
Rises a few miles west of Fond du Lac, and running m 
a south and southeasterly direction, enters the Mississippi 
in the State of Illinois, one hundred and sixty-five miles 
below the south line of Wisconsin. It derives its name 
from some rocks near the mouth, seen in passing on the 
Mississippi, and not from its being more rocky than any 
other of the western rivers. The " Rock river country " 
is very favorably known for its fertility of soil, healthful- 
ness, and for the beauty of its natural scenery. The nu- 
merous remains of an ancient people, and of their works, 
found in its vicinity, indicate that this celebrity is not of re- 
cent date. This river may, at very moderate expense, be 
rendered navigable for small steamboats. The only ob- 
structions within this Territory are at four rapids, requiring 
locks and dams, and about ten bars or shallow places, of 
inconsiderable extent. The following table shows the ex- 
tent and fall on these rapids, the distance along the river 



154 ROCK RIVER. 

from place to place, and the total elevation of each place 
above Lake Michigan, commencing at the mouth of Doty's 
river, near the north line of Dodge county, which is the 
head of natural navigation, and only eighteen miles from 
the southern extremity of Lake Winnebago : 



PLACES. 


DISTANCE. 


DESCENT. 


ELEVATION. 




Miles. 


Feet. 


Feet. 


Mouth of Doty's river - - 


- 




316 


Outlet of Winnebago marsh - 


- 12| 


6.000 


310 


Head of Hustis' rapids - - 


- 121 


15.000 


295 


Foot of Hustis' rapids - - 


- 1 


6.925 


288 


Opposite La Belle lake - - 


- 271 


31.075 


257 


Head of Peck's rapids - - - 


- 9 


9.000 


248 


TTocirJ #yF mill nnnrl . - - 


- 9 


23.659 


224 


XlCCtU. VI 111111 JJU11U. - 

Foot of Johnson's rapids - - 


- 2^ 


24.237 


200 


lOTTOTCAVl __-»_■> 


- 18 


14.104 


186 


Foot of Lake Koshkonong - 


- m 


11.000 


175 


Mouth of Crawfish - - - 


. m 


12.000 


163 


Head of Holmes' rapids - - 


- 12 


12.000 


131 


Foot of Holmes' rapids - - 


- H 


6.925 


144 


State line of Illinois - - - 


- 16 


16.075 


128 


Junction with Mississippi 


-165 


191.000 


—63 



Total - - - - 316 379.000 

The whole estimated cost of improving the lower divi- 
sion of this river, from the State line to the mouth, is only 
one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The principal 
obstructions are at what are called the Upper and the 
Lower rapids, the former having a descent of eight feet, 
and the latter six. 

It has been proposed to connect the head waters of Rock 
river and Lake Winnebago, by means of a canal — and 
Capt. Cram, an officer of the Topographical Engineers, re- 
ports in relation to it, that, "judging from observations on 
the ground, unaided by the level, between the head waters 
of Rock river and those which seek the southern extremity 
of Lake Winnebago, it is inferred that a canal might be 
opened so as to draw water from the lake as a reservoir 



FOND DU LAC COUNTY. 155 

into the river." That this inference is very far from 
correct, is shown by statements made in the reports of the 
same officer. The level of Rock river is stated by him, at 
a point some distance below Johnson's rapids, to be one 
hundred and eighty feet above Lake Michigan. To this 
should be added those rapids and two others above, and 
also for the descent of the river between the rapids, about 
one hundred and thirty-six feet, making the elevation of 
the head of Rock river three hundred and sixteen feet 
above Lake Michigan. But Lake Winnebago is stated by 
Capt. Cram to be only about one hundred and sixty feet 
above Lake Michigan, so that in order to make its waters 
run down Rock river, a " deep cut " must be excavated 
one hundred and sixty-feet deep, and extend from the lake 
nearly to the Illinois State line ! That a canal may be 
made here, is perhaps true ; but that some source for the 
supply of water, other than Lake Winnebago, must be found, 
is also true. 

The branches of Rock river in Wisconsin are, Doty's 
river, in Fond du Lac county ; Ossin, and Rubicon, in 
Dodge county ; Oconomewoc, Crawfish, Bark river, John- 
son's creek and Koshkonong creek, in Jefferson county ; 
and the Catfish and Turtle creek, in Rock county. The 
Pekatonica is a considerable branch, that enters five and a 
half miles below the State line. 

Small steamboats have ascended this river as far as Jef- 
ferson : and in 1841, a small steamboat was built at Azta- 
lan, and sent down the river. But until improved, its value 
for navigation will be principally confined to floating lum- 
ber, &c, down the stream. 

FOND DU LAC COUNTY 

Is bounded on the north by Winnebago and Calumet 
counties ; on the east by Sheboygan ; on the south by 
Washington and Dodge ; and on the west by Marquette 
county : or, to trace the boundaries, we may begin at the 



156 FOND DU LAC COUNTY. 

northwest corner of township seventeen, in range fourteen, 
and running thence east to Lake Winnebago ; thence across 
that lake in a northeasterly direction, to the south bound- 
ary of the Indian reservation ; thence east to the east line 
of range nineteen ; thence south twenty-seven miles, to the 
south line of township thirteen ; thence west twelve miles ; 
and thence north eighteen miles, to the place of beginning. 
It is thirty-six miles long, from cast to west, and twenty- 
seven miles wide, in the widest place. The superficial ex- 
tent of the county is seven hundred and fifty-four square 
miles, of which thirty-six are covered by the waters of 
Lake Winnebago. 

This county was set off from Brown, in 1836, and orga- 
nized as a separate county in 1839. For judicial purposes 
it was organized in 1844. 

Its population in 1S40 was one hundred and thirty-nine ; 
in 1842 it was two hundred and ninety-three ; and there has 
been a very considerable increase since that time, so that it 
is now estimated at not less than eighteen hundred. 

There were in Fond du Lac county, in 1840, agreeably 
to the census, 21 horses, 355 neat cattle, 20S swine, and 
one saw-mill. The products of 1839 were 320 bushels of 
wheat, 1,315 of oats, 73 of buckwheat, 1,918 of Indian 
corn, 3,961 of potatoes, 353 pounds of wax, 925 tons of 
hay, and 3,220 pounds of maple sugar. - 

A high and steep ledge of limestone rock extends through 
the county from northeast to southwest, running along the 
east side of Lake Winnebago, which appears to be the 
dividing line between the heavily timbered land on the east, 
and the prairie and open land forming the west part of the 
county. The " Military road" from Green Bay to the 
Mississippi, runs around the south end of the lake, and re- 
cently roads have been opened from this point to Milwau- 
kee and Sheboygan, thus affording the citizens of Fond du 
Lac a choice of lake ports at which to transact their com- 
mercial business. 



FOND DU LAC COUNTY. 157 

The village of Fond du Lac was laid out as early as 
1S35, by the " Fond du Lac Company," on the Soocherah 
or Fond du Lac river, at the site of an old village of the 
Winnebago Indians. Its situation is beautiful, on land 
gradually rising from the lake, with scattered groves and 
clumps of trees. It is sixty-four miles from Milwaukee, 
and sixty from Green Bay. The Soocherah is navigable 
nearly two miles from its mouth, at which point it receives 
the Seven Mile Creek from the west : above it runs with a 
rapid current, between high banks. The proposed con- 
nection (by means of a canal) with Rock river, will be 
along the valley of this straam. 

The village of Taycheeda, situated near the south-east 
angle of Lake Winnebago, has sprung up within a few 
years, and now bids fair to outstrip all the other places in 
the county. An extensive mercantile establishment, 
tavern, and numerous Jiandsome dwellings, with several 
mechanics' shops constitute the embryo town. 

Ceresco is the name of a town established in this county 
by an association under the system of Fourier, called the 
" Wisconsin Phalanx." It was commenced by twenty-five 
persons on the 26th day of May, 1844, and now contains a 
population of about two hundred. 

Mr. W. Chase, one of the members, in a letter recently 
published, gives the following facts relating to this interest- 
ing experiment : 

" We are under the township government, organized similar to 
the system in New York. Our town was set off and organized last 
winter, by the Legislature, at which time the Association was also 
incorporated as a joint-stock company by a charter, which is our 
constitution. We had a post-office and mail, weekly, within forty 
days of our commencement ; thus far we have obtained all we have 
asked for. 

" We have religious meetings and Sabbath schools, conducted by 
members of some half a dozen different denominations of Christians, 
with whom creeds and modes of faith are of minor importance, 



158 FOND DU LAC COUNTY. 

compared with religion. All are protected, and all is harmony in 
that department. 

" The Phalanx has a title from government to 1440 acres of land 3 
on which there is one of the best water-powers in [the country, a 
saw-mill in operation, a grist-mill building, 640 acres under im- 
provement, 400 of which are now seeding to winter wheat ;] we 
raised about fifteen hundred bushels the past season, which is suffi- 
cient for our next year's bread — have about seventy acres of corn on 
the ground, which looks well, and other crops in proportion. Our 
property is entirely unencumbered, the society free from debt, and 
we have an abundance of cattle, horses, crops, and provisions, for 
the wants of our present numbers, and physical energy enough to 
obtain more. Thus, you see, we are tolerably independent, and 
we intend to remain so, as we admit none as members who have 
not sufficient physical strength to warrant their not being a burthen 
to the society. We have one dwelling-house nearly finished, in 
which reside twenty families, with a long hall conducting to the 
dining-room, where all who are able dine together. We intend to 
erect another, for twenty families more,* next summer, with a hall 
conducting to another dining-room, supplied from the same cook- 
room. 

" We have one school constantly, but have as yet been unable to 
do much towards improving that department. 

" We have a well regulated system of Grouping our laborers, 
but have not yet organized the Series. We have no difficulty in 
any department of our business, and thus far, more than our most 
sanguine expectations have been realized. 

li We commenced with a determination to avoid all debts, and 
have thus far adhered to our text ; for we believed debt would dis- 
band more Associations than any other one cause, and thus far I 
believe it has, more than all other causes put together. 

«■ Most of our land is prairie, interspersed with groves of oak, 
maple, poplar, rosewood, &c, and an abundance of springs, and 
quarries of lime, and rock, and occasionally, with the old red sand- 
stone. We are situated ninety miles north of the State line of 
Illinois, and sixty west of Sheboygan on Lake Michigan, ten 
south of the navigable waters of Upper Fox River, and twenty 
west of Lake Winnebago." 

Calumetville is a village commenced in 1834 by some 



CALUMET COUNTY. 159 

German emigrants on Lake Winnebago, nine miles from 
Taycheeda. 

There are four post-offices in this county: Ceresco, 
Fond du Lac, Waupun, and Taycheeda. 

In the eastern range of townships there are nine small 
lakes, only two of which are named on the maps — Crooked 
Lake, on section fifteen, township thirteen, range nineteen ; 
and Long Lake, in township fourteen, which is two and a 
fourth miles long, and only half a mile wide. 

The town system of government has been adopted in 
this county, and the towns organized are : 

Calumet, townships sixteen and seventeen, east of Lake Win- 
nebago. 

Ceresco, township sixteen, in range fourteen. 

Ltme, township fourteen, in range sixteen. 

Motemon, township fourteen, in range fourteen. 

Rosendale, township sixteen and the north half of fifteen in 
range fifteen, and the west half of sixteen. 

Waupun, township fifteen in range fourteen, and township 
fourteen, and the south half of fifteen, in range fifteen. 

Fond du Lac embraces the remainder of the county. 

CALUMET COUNTY 

Is bounded on the north by Brown, east by Manitowoc, 
south by Sheboygan and Fond du Lac, and on the west by 
Winnebago counties ; or on the north by the line between 
townships twenty and twenty-»ne ; on the south by the line 
between townships sixteen and seventeen (in range twenty- 
one) and the south line of the Indian reservation, produced 
into Lake Winnebago ; and on the west by the line between 
ranges seventeen and eighteen. It is twenty-four miles 
long from north to south, and eighteen miles wide. The 
area is three hundred and ninety-six square miles, including 
about eighty-one miles of the water of lake Winnebago. 

Calumet county was set off from Brown, in 1836, and 
organized as a separate county in 1842 ; but in 1843 it was 



160 CALUMET COUNTY. 

reduced to the grade of a town, and made part of Fond do 
Lac county, under the name of Manchester. It is now re- 
stored to its former dignity, but remains attached to Fond 
du Lac county for judicial purposes. 

The population, in 1840, was two hundred and seventy- 
five ; in 1842, it was four hundred and seven. It is now 
estimated at eight hundred. 

This county embraces the Stockbridge and Brother-town 
Indian reservation, whose farms, with their neat houses, 
substantial fences and well cultivated fields, will compare 
favorably with those belonging to other farmers of this 
country. They constitute a majority of the inhabitants of 
the county. 

A high rocky ridge runs through the county, nearly 
parallel with the lake shore, from the east side of which 
the Sheboygan and Manitowoc rivers take their rise ; and 
through one or the other of these valleys, a very direct 
communication with Lake Michigan may at no distant day 
be opened by the construction of a railroad or canal. The 
soil in this county is rich, and well covered with timber, of 
which basswood constitutes an unusually large proportion. 
The rocks found in this place are limestone and occasion- 
ally sandstone ; and there are said to be some indications 
of coal. The scenery, especially about the lake, is de- 
scribed as very beautiful and picturesque. 

According to the census of 1840, there were then in 
Calumet county, 16 horses, 2$5 neat cattle, and 43S swine ; 
and the products of 1839 are stated at 1,192 bushels of 
wheat, 194 of barley, 432 of oats, 2,619 of Indian corn, 
3,803 of potatoes, and 231 tons of hay. 

There are two very small lakes in this county. 

The post-offices established are three ; at Calumet, 
Pequot, and Stockbridge. 

The only streams of any considerable size are the north 
and south branches of the Manitowoc, which run in nearly 
opposite directions, and unite near the east line of this 
county. 



WINNEBAGO COUNTY. 161 

The township system of government is adopted. 

All north of the division between the two reservations is 
in the town of Stockbridge, and all south of that line in the 
town of Manchester. 

WINNEBAGO COUNTY 

Is bounded on the north by Brown, or north line of town- 
ship twenty ; on the east by Calumet, or east line of range 
seventeen ; on the south by Fond du Lac, or south line of 
township seventeen ; and on the west by Marquette and 
Brown counties, or by the west line of range fourteen. It 
is a regular square of twenty -four miles each way, and con- 
taining, therefore, five hundred and seventy-six square miles, 
from which, however, we may deduct, as covered with 
water, as follows : 

By Lake Winnebago, 90 miles. 

Pewaugonee Lake, 21 " 

Great Butte des Morts, 7 « 

Little Butte des Morts, 4 « 

Rush Lake, 5 " 

Total, 127 

Winnebago county was separated from Brown and Fond 
du Lac counties in 1840, and organized for county purposes 
in 1842. In 1840, its population was one hundred and thir- 
ty-five ; and in 1842, it had only increased to one hundred 
and forty -three. It is now supposed to be about five hun- 
dred. 

The situation of this county, on the Neenah river, at the 
junction of Wolf river, a large stream which must at some 
future day bring down a large surplus of agricultural pro- 
ducts, and being bounded on Lake Winnebago, one of the 
most beautiful and interesting, as well as the largest of the 
interior lakes of the Territory, must render it as important 
as many other counties. The character of the soil, timber- 
prairies, water, and other things usually considered in mak- 
ing a selection of a new home in the West, will compare 



162 WINNEBAGO COUNTY. 

favorably with any other county in the Territory. The un- 
derlying rock is limestone. 

The ancient struggle between the French and the Sauk 
and Fox Indians, by which the former sought to secure a 
free passage across the country to the Mississippi river, was 
terminated by a decisive action which took place in this 
county, as described in this work, page 21. 

There are three post-offices : at Oshkosh, Buttes des 
Morts, and Neenah. 

In 1840, agreeably to the census, there were in Winne- 
bago county 39 horses, 184 neat cattle, 147 swine, 1 grist- 
mill, and 1 saw-mill. In 1839, the products were 362 bush- 
els of wheat, 445 of oats, 21 of buckwheat, 1,090 of Indian 
corn, 1,980 of potatoes, 209 tons of hay, 4,400 pounds of 
maple sugar, 3 barrels of fish, $8,950 worth of skins and 
furs, and 15 pounds of tobacco. 

The county seat is at Oshkosh, at the entrance of the 
Neenah into Lake Winnebago. 

Lake Winnebago, from which this county derives its 
name, is twenty-eight miles long, and ten miles wide, in its 
greatest dimensions, and covers an area of about two hun- 
dred and twelve square miles. The Neenah river enters it 
near the middle, and leaves it at the northwest angle, by two 
channels, enclosing Doty's island, by which it is connected 
with the Little Butte des Morts lake. These channels are 
known as the Winnebago rapids. " The water," says Capt. 
Cram, " is hard, and when not violently agitated is quite pel-^ 
lucid, but becomes turbid during long and severe blows ; and 
has a depth sufficient for the purposes of navigation. On the 
northern extremity the shore is low, having a narrow sandy 
beach, for an extent of about eight miles. On the east side 
the shore presents a remarkable feature for an extent of fif- 
teen miles, in a wall composed of rocks laid together, as if 
placed there by the hand of art. A similar wall pertains 
to portions of the western shore, but with less continuity 
than is observed on the east shore. The wall generally 



WINNEBAGO COUNTY. 163 

rises about five feet above, and extends into the lake under 
the water, for some hundreds of feet. Above the wall on 
the east side, there immediately succeeds a table of excel- 
lent land, covered with a growth of heavy timber ; and still 
further back the ground rises into a high ridge, in which 
limestone and sandstone are found in great abundance. On 
approaching the southern extremity of the lake, however, 
the stone and timber disappear, and the land becomes a^rich 
grassy prairie, coming quite to the water's edge." The 
wall above described probably owes its origin to the expan- 
sive force of the ice in winter, by which the rocks in the 
shallow water near the shore are annually moved towards 
the shore, until they are finally thrown up into a ridge or 
wall, as is seen on the Pewaukee, and other lakes in Mil- 
waukee county. There is a small island (about a mile in 
length) near the west shore, called Garlic island. For the 
protection of navigation on this lake a pier has been com- 
menced under the authority of Congress, at Clifton, near 
the northern extremity of Lake Winnebago, for which an 
appropriation of five hundred dollars was made. It is esti- 
mated by Capt. Cram that the surface of this lake is about 
one hundred and sixty feet above the level of Lake Mi- 
chigan. 

Pew>ugonee lake is an expansion of Wolf river, about 
ten miles in length, commencing a short distance above its 
junction with the Neenah. 

Great Butte des Morts lake is an expansion of the 
Neenah river, four and a half miles above Lake Winneba- 
go ; three and a half miles in length, and from one to two 
miles in breadth. 

Little Butte des Morts lake is another expansion 
of the Neenah, immediately below Winnebago rapids ; 
about four and a half miles long, and one mile wide. 

These two last lakes (Buttes des Morts, or " Hills of the 
Dead ") are named from hills or mounds said to have been 
formed of the dead bodies of the Indians slain in some bat- 



164 MARQUETTE COUNTY. 

tie, which were thrown into heaps and covered with earth. 
They are now grown over with grass, and present much the 
same appearance as the ancient mounds so profusely scat- 
tered through the West. Should this story prove true, it 
may be important, as showing the origin of the ancient 
mounds. These mounds are near the mouth of Wolf river, 
or about the head of the Great Butte des Morts lake. 

BtfSH lake is situated near the southwest corner of the 
county fin township seventeen, range fourteen) ? is five miles 
long, and about two wide. The southern extremity of the 
lake crosses the county line of Fond du Lac county. There 
are no lakes in this county besides those above described. 

MARQUETTE COUNTY, 

So named in honor of Father Joseph Marquetta, who 
first explored this part of the country, is bounded on the 
north by the Neenah river ; on the east by Winnebago and 
Fond du Lac counties, or the east line of range thirteen ; 
on the south by Dodge and Portage counties, or the south 
line of township fourteen ; and on the west by the Neenah 
river. Its length from east to west is twenty-nine and a 
half miles, and its average breadth is thirteen and one-sixth 
miles, showing an area or superficial extent of three hun- 
dred and eighty-eight square miles or sections. This county 
was set off from Brown in 1836, and organized as a separate 
county in 1S44. The population in 1840 was eighteen, and 
in 1842 was only fifty-nine ; but it is now estimated at six 
hundred. For all judicial purposes it is attached to Fond 
du Lac county. 

In 1 840 there were in Marquette county 5 horses, 45 neat 
cattle, and 20 swine ; 100 bushels of oats, 100 of buck- 
wheat, 320 of potatoes, and 20 tons of hay, were the pro- 
ducts of the preceding year. 

There is a post-office in this county, at Green Lake. 

There are three lakes of considerable size in this county, 
and six of less importance. The principal are 



MARQUETTE COUNTY. 165 

Buffalo lake, an expansion of the Neenah river, at 
the northwest angle of the county, commencing nineteen 
miles below the portage, and extending eleven and one- 
fourth miles. It is narrow, and the water is shallow, being 
mostly filled with wild rice. 

Puckawa lake is another expansion of the Neenah 
river, about seven miles long and two broad, and about forty 
miles, by the course of the river, below the portage. The 
village of Marque tta is laid out on the south side of this 
lake ; and a Company has been incorporated to construct a 
canal from this place to Dekorra, on the Wisconsin river, 
thus avoiding the portage and much circuitous navigation 
along the Neenah river. 

Green lake lies immediately east of Puckawa ; eight 
miles long by two broad ; its waters deep and very clear. 
The bottom is covered with white pebbles ; and wild rice 
or other vegetation does not grow upon it, as upon most of 
the lakes about this portion of Wisconsin. 

Little Green lake lies four miles south of Green lake, 
one and a half miles long by a mile wide, with a circum- 
ference of about seven miles. The water is said to be very 
deep. " In the middle," says a correspondent of the Green 
Bay Republican, " it has been sounded to the depth of more 
than forty feet, and no bottom found : in many places, at a 
distance of twenty yards from the shore, the water is from 
eight to twelve feet in depth, and remarkably pure. There 
is no visible inlet, and but one outlet, which is so inconsi- 
derable that it is in fact only a mere drain. The scenery 
around is picturesque and beautiful beyond description. On 
the north side, for more than a mile in extent, the shore is 
composed of a beautiful white sandstone, rising in some in- 
stances perpendicularly to the height of probably seventy- 
five or eighty feet. This stone possesses all the properties 
of the best grindstones brought into this Territory ; and al- 
though some of it can be very readily broken with the 
hand, yet I struck some parts of the ledge as I passed under 



166 RICHLAND COUNTY. 

it with a heavy spear, and I am of opinion that it is firm 
enough for the best of either grind or scythe stones. " 

This county is bounded on the west and north by the 
Neenah, and the only stream besides this, of any impor- 
tance, is one whose Indian name is 

Keeshaynic River. It rises in the west part of Fond 
du Lac county, and running west through the middle of 
Marquette county, enters the Neenah about a mile above 
Lake Puckawa. It is about thirty miles in length, and a 
short distance above the mouth expands into a long narrow 
lake. 



RICHLAND COUNTY 

Was established in 1842, on the north side of the Wis- 
consin river, to embrace two ranges on each side of the 
fourth principal meridian, and extending to the north line 
of township twelve. It lies between the counties of Sauk 
on the east, and Crawford on the west ; is twenty-four miles 
wide, from east to west, and twenty-four and one-fourth 
miles average length ; containing, therefore, five hundred 
and eighty-two square miles. This county is not yet organ- 
ized, but is attached to Iowa. 

The topography of this county is quite similar to that of 
the counties south of the Wisconsin ; the surface consist- 
ing of a series of dividing ridges running between the prin- 
cipal streams, which send out lateral branch ridges, that 
form bluff banks along the rivers. They are composed 
chiefly of sandstone. 

The population of this county is not supposed to exceed 
one hundred, and the propriety of its establishment may 
well be doubted. 

There are three streams running through this county, 
from north to south, of which Pine river is the principal. 
This stream is navigable for canoes, and is about thirty 
yards wide at its junction with the Wisconsin. Six miles 



RICHLAND COUNTY. 167 

above the mouth, it receives a considerable tributary from 
the West. There is a cascade about twenty miles above 
the Wisconsin, where the rocks are said to be united over 
the water, forming a natural bridge. 

The Wisconsin river is one of the most important in 
the Territory, especially the lower portion, between the 
portage and the Mississippi, a distance of one hundred and 
fourteen miles, by the course of the river. At the portage? 
it is four hundred yards w r ide, and it gradually increases in 
width to the mouth, where it is six hundred yards wide. 
In Richland county, it has a width of about four hundred 
and fifty yards. This portion of the river is bordered by 
high sandstone bluffs, from one hundred and fifty to two 
hundred feet in height — constituting a scenery of great 
"beauty and even grandeur. The water is shallow, and 
there are numerous islands and shifting sand bars. The 
current is usually quite rapid. Hence the navigation of the 
Wisconsin is rather difficult and uncertain ; but steamboats, 
such as usually run on the Upper Mississippi, have ascend- 
ed to the portage. When the channel is better known 
to the pilots, it may, however, be navigated in ordinary 
stages of the water, without much difficulty. 

The distances along the river, from the portage, are as 
follows : 

From Portage to Dekorra 
Thence to Prairie du Sac^ . 

" Arena . . . 

" Helena 

" Mineral creek 

" Pine river 

" Blue river . 

" Kickapoo river 
Ferry (U. S. road) 

" The Mississippi 
The Indian name of this river is Neekoospara 



Miles. 


Tofc 


6 




20 


26 


12 


38 


10 


48 


7 


55 


9 


64 


15 


79 


19 


98 


11 


109 


5 


114 



168 SAUK COUNTY 

SAUK COUNTY 

Lies on the north side of the Wisconsin, between Rich- 
land and Portage counties, being bounded as follows : be- 
ginning on the Wisconsin, on the west line of range three 
east, and running thence north to the north line of township 
twelve ; thence west six miles ; thence north six miles ; 
thence east to the middle of the Wisconsin river ; thence 
down the middle of said river, until it intersects the range 
line between ranges seven and eight ; thence south to the 
middle of the Wisconsin ; thence down that stream to the 
beginnino- n ' 1S thirtv miles Ions: from east to west, with 
an average breadth of about twenty-eight miles, and an 
area of about eight hundred and seventy-six square miles. 
Sauk county was set off from Crawford, in 1839, and was to 
be organized as a separate county in 1844. Its population, 
in 1840, was one hundred and two ; in 1842 it was three 
hundred, and it is now estimated at eleven hundred. 

The principal settlement in this county is on the river, 
at a place called " Prairie du Sac," twenty -five miles north- 
west from Madison. The prairie is about eight miles wide, 
and extends eighteen miles along the Wisconsin. Its name 
is given in allusion to its form, being that of a " sack," or 
bag, and not from Sauk, the tribe of Indians. The Nau- 
matonan, or Honey creek, enters the Wisconsin a short dis- 
tance below, upon which mills have been erected. On the 
Earaboo river, a branch of the Wisconsin, that enters a short 
distance below the portage, a settlement has been commen- 
ced. The remainder of the county is usually represented as 
very rough and broken, and, to some extent, unfit for cul- 
tivation and improvement. 

In 1840, one year after the first settlement of this county, 
it contained 30 horses, 148 neat cattle, and 82 swine ; and 
the produce of 1839 was 464 bushels of wheat, 1,795 of 
oats, 1,235 of potatoes, and 264 tons of hay. There was 
one store. 



COLUMBIA COUNTY. 169 

Some mines of copper ore have been opened in this 
county, on the Baraboo river, but none of them have proved 
of much value. 

A post-office has been established at Prairie du Sac. 

COLUMBIA COUNTY. 

This county was established in January, 1846. It begins 
on the Neenahor Fox river at the north line of township thir- 
teen ; thence southward, up said river, to the south line of 
lands owned by the Menomonee Indians; thence westwardly 
to the middle of the Wisconsin ; thence up that river to the 
east line of range seven ; thence south on said line to the mid- 
dle of the Wisconsin river ; thence down the Wisconsin to 
the south line of township ten ; thence east to the east line 
of range twelve ; thence north to the north line of township 
thirteen ; thence west to the place of beginning. Its area 
is about seven hundred and twenty square miles. Its popu- 
lation, in 1840, was one thousand six hundred and twenty- 
three ; and in 1S42 (excluding officers and soldiers at Fort 
Winnebago) it was six hundred and forty-six : it is now 
supposed to be about one thousand. In 1840, it numbered 
201 horses, 372 neat cattle, 127 hogs, 9 stores, and 14 saw* 
mills; and the products of 1S39 were, 1,815 bushels of 
wheat, 1,01S of oats, 21 of buckwheat, 293 of Indian corn, 
5,539 of potatoes, 899 tons of hay, and seven thousand 
one hundred and fifty dollars' worth of skins and furs. 

The Winnebago Portage between the Wisconsin and 
Neenah rivers, near Fort Winnebago, in this county, is a 
point often mentioned by all who speak or write about Wis- 
consin. At times of flood, the waters of the Wisconsin oc- 
casionally cover the marshy ground at this place, to the 
depth of three feet ; and being at such times the highest, the 
water passes into the Neenah, thus sending portions of its 
water to the ocean by two different routes. The " Portage 
Canal Company" have dug a ditch across the portage, 
about two feet wide and two feet deep. Capt. Cram re- 



170 COLUMBIA COUNTY. 

ports, that the length of canal necessary to cross this port- 
age is seven thousand seven hundred and thirty-nine feet ; 
and that the fall from the Wisconsin to the Neenah, in Oc- 
tober, 1839, was one foot and fifty-five hundredths. This 
difference constantly varies, according to the stage of the 
water in the two streams, but it is believed that it seldom 
exceeds three feet. 

Dekorra is a village laid out in 1836, by some gentle- 
man from Kentucky, and called " Kentucky City," on the 
Wisconsin river, at the first convenient place below the 
portage. There is a store, a flouring-mill, and several 
houses here ; and the principal business done is the lumber 
trade, this being the point at which lumber from the Upper 
Wisconsin is landed to supply the surrounding country for 
many miles in extent. The position of the town is high, 
commanding, and healthy. The rock about here is sand- 
stone, which has imparted a sandy quality to the soil. The 
timber is scattered, and consists chiefly of small oaks. 

Two other towns have been laid out by different persons 
in this county, which have not yet risen to much import- 
ance. They are Pauquette, twelve miles south of Fort 
Winnebago ; and Ida, or Wisconsinopolis, on the north side 
of Swan Lake. Near this place is " Stone Quarry Hill," 
from which an excellent building material is obtained, and 
affording a commanding view of the surrounding country. 

Besides the Wisconsin and Neenah rivers, the Barraboo 
enters this county nearly opposite Dekorra ; and Duck 
creek, Taynah, and Ockee, are three small tributaries of 
the Wisconsin from the east. 

There are five small lakes in Columbia county, of which 
the principal are : 

Swan Lake, an expansion of the Neenah, above the 
portage, three and a half miles long, and half a mile wide. 
The water is pure, of great depth, and abounds in fish. 

Mud Lake is also an expansion of the same river, five 
miles below the portage, about one mile in length. 



PORTAGE COUNTY. 171 

Lake Sarah forms the source of the Neenah, about eight 
miles west of Fox Lake. 

Post-offices are established at Fort Winnebago and at 
Columbus, a small village recently commenced, in the south- 
east part of the county. 

PORTAGE COUNTY 

Is bounded on the north by the State of Michigan ; on 
the east by Brown ; on the south by Marquette, Columbia, 
and Sauk; and on the west by Crawford and St. Croix 
counties. It embraces all the country between ranges two 
and nine inclusive, east of the meridian, and extending from 
the north boundaries of Marquette, Columbia, and Sauk 
counties north to the territorial line — being twenty-four 
miles wide and about eighty miles long. The area is about 
two thousand square miles. Portage county was set off 
from Brown in 1836, but not fully organized until 1844. 
It is now reduced in size by separating the county of 
Columbia. Its population is probably about one thousand. 

The Upper Wisconsin lies principally in this county, 
with its numerous rapids and portages, affording water 
power of great extent, which is used at many places to 
manufacture pine lumber. Large quantities of lumber are 
annually sent down this river, and the Mississippi, as far as 
St. Louis. The " pineries" commence about eighty miles 
above Fort Winnebago ; and here a railroad has been con- 
structed (the first in Wisconsin) of two miles in length, to 
convey logs from the forest to the mills. At the " Dells," 
the river runs for eight miles between perpendicular cliffs 
of rock about three hundred feet high, and only forty across. 

The scenery here is grand and picturesque, resembling 
the gorge below the Falls of Niagara, and probably pro- 
duced by the same cause. A small steamboat passed 
through the Dells, in 1845, being the first attempt to navi- 
gate the Upper Wisconsin. Near the Dells is the place 
where Black Hawk and the Prophet were taken (after their 
defeat at the battle of the Bad Axe) by Dekorra and 



172 DANE COUNTY. 

Chaetar, two Winnebago Indians, who had been employed 
for that purpose by the Indian agent at Prairie du Chien. 

Post-offices have been established at Grand Rapids and 
at Plover portage, in this county. 

The northern part of Portage county contains a great 
number of small lakes, interspersed with those of larger 
size ; but as no surveys, and but few explorations of any 
kind have been made, but little is known respecting them. 
" It may be said," reports Captain Cram, " that there is no 
direction that can be followed from an assumed point, as a 
centre, which will not lead into a series of small lakes in 
this part of the country. These lakes, so beautifully 
diversified in size, shape, and scenery, are but the limpid 
springs which form the summit-reservoirs that nature 
seems to have furnished, with admirable foresight, for a 
never-failing supply to the Chippewa, the Wisconsin, the 
Menomonee, the Ontonagon, and several smaller streams, 
such as the Montreal, the Casp, the Iron, &c. The valleys 
and ravines, through which the little streams from these 
lakes meander, are rich, and often present bottoms of con- 
siderable width, bearing a luxuriant growth of native grass. 
The highlands are dry and not very much broken, and are 
generally covered with pine — white and yellow, and oak 
occasionally." The elevation of this region above Lake 
Michigan is about nine hundred and fifty feet. 

DANE COUNTY 

Is bounded on the north by Sauk and Portage counties ; 
on the east by Dodge and Jefferson ; on the south by Rock 
and Green ; and on the west by Iowa : or on the north by 
the north line of township nine ; east by the east line of 
range twelve ; south by the south line of township five ; and 
west by the west line of range six. It is forty-two miles 
long, from east to west, and thirty miles wide from north 
to south, with an area of twelve hundred and thirty-five 
square miles, or sections, thirty-five of which are covered 



DANE COUNTY. 173 

by the water of the lakes. This county was set off from 
the west part of Milwaukee, and east part of Iowa counties, 
in 1836, but was not organized as a separate county until 
1839. Its population, in 1838, was one hundred and 
seventy-two ; in 1840, it was three hundred and fourteen ; 
and at the last enumeration, in 1842, its population was 
seven hundred and seventy-six. It may now be estimated 
at about four thousand five hundred. The county seat is 
at MADison, the capital of the Territory. 

The face of the country, in this large and important cen- 
tral county, is much diversified by hills and valleys ; the 
hills, however, are always of moderate elevation, and have 
gentle slopes to their summits. The valley occupied by 
the Four Lakes, and their outlet, is the principal one, and 
occupies the central portions of the county. There are 
no considerable portions that can be called timber land, it 
being almost entirely oak openings or prairie. Some of the 
eastern portions of the county are occupied by dry ridges, 
separated by wet meadows, and afford but little inducement 
for present settlement. The west line of the county passes 
between the two Blue Mounds, the largest, or principal 
one, falling within the county of Dane. About three 
townships, occupying the southwest corner of the county, 
are within the county known as the " Mineral region," and 
lead mines have long been worked at the Blue Mound, It 
touches upon Lake Koshkonong, an expansion of Rock 
river on the southeast, and upon the Wisconsin river at the 
northwest, embracing the ground upon which the " battle 
of the Wisconsin" was fought, between the volunteers under 
General Henry Dodge, and the Indians under Black Hawk, 
July 21, 1832. There are three newspapers published in 
this county, at Madison : and six post-offices have been 
established — at Madison, Moundville, Cottage Grove, 
Fitchburg, Dane, and Sun Prairie. 

Madison* is beautifully situated, between the Third and 
* Now (1846) an incorporated town. 



174 DANE COUNTY. 

Fourth of the Four Lakes, near the centre of a broad val- 
ley, surrounded by high lands from which the village may 
be seen at a great distance, presenting one of the most 
picturesque views in this part of Wisconsin. It was laid 
out in 1S36, and in December of the same year, it was by 
law made the permanent seat of Government for the Territo- 
ry, when the whole town consisted of but one " log cabin." 
As soon as it was known that the capital of the Territory 
was established on the point or neck of land between the 
Third and Fourth Lake, a rush was made to the Land 
Office at Milwaukee, and all the lands subject to entry in 
the vicinity, and for many miles around these lakes, were 
immediately entered, mostly by those who do not intend to 
occupy them for actual settlement and improvement. 
Hence the improvement of this county has not been as 
rapid as some others, where the " speculators" have no op- 
portunity or inducement to monopolize all the most valua- 
ble lands. The advantage of having the seat of govern- 
ment, however, has in some degree, made up for this mis- 
fortune, and it is probable that Dane county will keep pace 
with her sister counties, especially as it is probable that the 
principal public improvements, by canals, railroads, &c, 
will, as is usual, be made to centre at, or pass through the 
capital of the Territory. Public buildings have been erect- 
ed at Madison, for which an appropriation of forty thousand 
dollars was made by Congress. 

In 1840, agreeably to the census of the United States, 
there were in Dane county, 101 horses, 510 neat cattle, 5 
sheep, 628 swine, 3 stores and groceries, 1 saw-mill, 2 
cabinet makers, and two lead smelting furnaces. The 
products of 1839, were 290 bushels of wheat, 10,250 bush- 
els of oats, 12 bushels of buckwheat, 3,080 bushels of In- 
dian corn, 8,480 bushels of potatoes, 10 pounds of wool, 
468 tons of hay, 200,000 pounds of lead, and twenty 
thousand dollars worth of lumber. 

The region of the Four Lakes is very favorably known 



DANE COUNTY. 175 

as a beautiful country, with a rich limestone soil, and well 
adapted for agricultural purposes. These lakes lie in a 
row, from northwest to southeast, the largest being the 
upper, or most northwesterly, called the Fourth lake. 
The other three are of nearly equal size, and about equal 
distances apart. Their outlet, called the Catfish creek, is 
a valuable stream, affording several fine sites for water 
power, and might easily be made navigable for small boats. 
From the report of Capt. Cram, many interesting facts 
relative to the Catfish and the Four lakes are here given : 

" The Fikst lake has a circumference of nine and a 
half miles, and contains five square miles of surface ; its 
longest diameter points due east and west, and is three and 
one-eighth miles in extent ; and the north and south diame- 
ter is two miles long. The water is pellucid and has a 
depth along the boat channel, varying from seven to ten 
feet, excepting near the outlet, where, as is usual with these 
lakes, there is a bar, over which the water is but two feet 
deep. The shores, with but few exceptions, are good ; in 
some places they are rolling and uneven, being broken by 
bluffs, and interspersed occasionally with small marshes. 
The timber is scanty, and of inferior quality." 

The Second lake is next above the First. Its length 
is three and a half miles, and its width nearly two miles. 
The water is pure, and along the boat track has a depth of 
nine feet. On the north and east the shore is marshy, with 
a low, gravelly bank intervening between the marsh and 
the water's edge ; on the southern and western shores, the 
land is elevated, undulating, presenting high knobs and 
bluffs. 

The Third lake is intermediate in size, as well as posi- 
tion, between the Second and Fourth lakes, being three 
and a half miles long, and occupying an area of about six 
square miles. Its waters are very clear, and about ten feet 
deep ; the banks are high and undulating, bearing a scat- 
tered growth of burr oak and white oak trees. Madison is 



176 DANE COUNTY. 

on the north shore of this lake, occupying the narrow strip 
of land between it and the next. 

Fourth lake is the uppermost and largest of the Four 
lakes. It has a periphery of nineteen and one-fourth miles, 
and covers an area of fifteen and sixty-five hundredths 
square miles. Its longest diameter bears due east and 
west, and is six miles in length ; and the transverse diame- 
ter is four miles long. The water is cold and pure, and of 
a depth sufficient for all the purposes of navigation by small 
steamboats — supposed to be from fifty to seventy feet at 
some places. " The land bordering upon it is hilly, undu- 
lating, and in many places broken. On the north side it is 
well timbered, chiefly with hard wood ; and lime, and sili- 
ceous stone are found in abundance ; the quality thereof, 
however, has not been sufficiently tested to enable one to 
form a just estimate of its value for building purposes." 
This is a beautiful lake, with clean, white, gravelly shores, 
and is mostly supplied from springs, having only one small 
tributary. It is fifteen miles from the Wisconsin river, at 
the nearest point ; and it is supposed that a canal might be 
constructed uniting these waters at Arena, by the valley of 
the Black Earth creek. The country around the lake rises 
gradually to a considerable elevation ; it is underlaid by 
limestone. Chalcedony, agates, and carnelians, have been 
found among the pebbles on the shore of this lake. The 
surface of the Fourth lake is estimated to be two hundred 
and ten feet above Lake Michigan, or seven hundred and 
eighty-eight feet above the level of the ocean ; and it is 
estimated by Capt. Cram to be twenty-two inches higher 
than Third lake. 

There are eight other small lakes in Dana county. — 
(Twelve in all.) The largest, called Wingra, lies west of 
Third lake, and is one and three-fourths miles in length, 
and three-fourths of a mile wide. The others have not 
yet been named, and several are quite small. 

The Catfish river, or outlet of the Four lakes, between 



DANE COUNTY. 177 

the Fourth and Third lakes, one mile, has a width of from 
sixty to one hundred feet, and a depth of three feet, except 
near the P'ourth lake, where the width is only thirty-five 
feet, and the depth two. The descent is estimated at a 
little less than two feet. Between the Third and Second 
lakes the descent is but very little ; the average width is 
about three hundred and fifty feet, and the depth varies 
from one to nine feet ; distance, seven-eighths of a mile. 
Between the Second and First lakes, three and a half 
miles, there are three slight rapids, having a total descent 
of about two feet ; and the depth of water varies from one 
to three or four feet. From the First lake to Dunkirk Falls, 
nine miles, there is but little fall in the river, the water 
being usually deep, and about one hundred and thirty feet 
average width. The best method of improving the naviga- 
tion of this stream would probably be, to build a dam at 
this point, about six feet high, which would increase suffi- 
ciently the depth of the channel, and bring all the lakes to 
the level of the Fourth lake, thus making a connected navi- 
gation for small steamboats through the whole distance, 
without further expense. 

At the Dunkirk Falls there is a rapid, in which the de- 
scent is six feet, in a distance of one and one-fourth miles, 
there being no perpendicular fall. The banks are from fifty 
to sixty feet high, and the valley is much contracted. 
From this point to Rock river, twelve miles, there is a con- 
stant succession of rapids — one having seven feet and four 
inches descent in a distance of about one mile. The whole 
descent on these rapids (twenty-five in all) was ascertained 
by Capt. Cram to be thirty-four and sixty-eight hundredths 
feet. The Catfish enters Rock river eleven and a half 
miles below the foot of Lake Koshkonong. The whole 
length of the stream, from the head of the Fourth lake, is 
forty miles, twenty-eight of which could be made naviga- 
ble by the erection of one dam at Dunkirk, not exceeding 
six feet in height. 
9 



178 DANE COUNTY. 

Koshkonong creek lies chiefly in Dana county, having 
its source about eight miles northeast from Madison, and 
running nearly parallel with the Catfish, along the east line 
of the county, enters Lake Koshkonong (hence its name) 
in Jefferson county. It receives the waters of two or three 
small lakes, and its length is about thirty-five miles. 

Sugar river takes its rise in the western part of this 
county, its head branches approaching near those of the 
Black Earth creek, which runs in an opposite direction 
from the great dividing ridge, and enters the Wisconsin at 
Arena, in Iowa county. 

Madison is the only village of any size or importance in 
this county, though a great many others have been laid 
out, and some of them may hereafter be built up. 

The Blue Mounds are two conical hills, or mounds, 
one in Iowa, and one, the largest, in Dana county, twenty- 
five miles west of Madison, and twelve miles south from 
the Wisconsin river. Their elevation is such that they 
can be seen at a distance of fifteen or twenty miles or more ; 
and in the first explorations of the country they were very 
important landmarks to guide the traveller in his course 
through the boundless prairies. The Indian name is Mu- 
cha-wa-ku-nin, or Smoky Mountains, applied to them, it is 
said, on account of their summits being usually enveloped 
in a cloud, or fog. From the summit of these mounds, 
which are covered with vegetation all the way up, there is 
a very grand view of the surrounding country, extending 
far beyond the Wisconsin on the north, and embracing a 
wide circle on all sides. The Platte Mounds, which are 
similar in many respects to the Blue Mounds, and may be 
considered as rivals, are seen at the southwest. Near the 
Mounds are the remains of a Fort, built during the Black 
Hawk war, in which several families were protected from 
the savage foes. The stranger is here shown the grave of 
Lieutenant Force, who was killed by an Indian hid in the 
tall grass, in a small ravine, near the place where the grave 



DANE COUNTY. 179 

is now seen. This Indian was afterwards killed, near the 
Four lakes, in a skirmish with General Dodge's volunteers, 
and a gold watch belonging to Lieutenant Force was taken 
from the pouch of the Indian, and restored to his family. 

The following is a geological section, extending from the 
summit of the eastern mound to the Wisconsin river, at 
Helena, as reported by Dr. Locke : 

Feet. 

1. Cornitiferous rock, or beds of chert, forming the peak of the 

Mound, 410 

2. Geodiferous lime rock, or lead bearing rock, . . 169 

3. Blue limestone (of Dr. Locke), very thin, or wanting, 00 

4. Saccharoid sandstone, 40 

5. Alternations of sandstone and limestone, . . . 188 

6. Sandstone, 3 

7. Lower limestone, 190 

Total, 1000 

Lead mines have been opened on the southern slope of 
the principal mound, which afford, in addition to the usual 
kind of ore, another called " white mineral" by the miners 
— probably the carbonate of lead. Its external characters 
are so much unlike the common ore, that its real nature 
would not be suspected until a more careful examination 
was made. It is not very abundant, and is seldom worked 
as an ore, on this account. The smelters give only half as 
much for this as for the common ore. 

Dane County has now adopted the township system of 
government, and is divided into towns as follows : 

Albion — townships five and six, in range twelve. 

Dunkirk — township five, in range eleven. 

.Rome — townships five and six in range nine, and township six in 
range ten. 

Rutland — township five in range ten. 

Sun Prairie — townships eight and nine, in ranges eleven and 
twelve. 

Madison — embraces ill the country not included in the towns 
above named. 



180 GREEN COUNTY. 



GREEN COUNTY 



Is bounded on the north by Dane, and on the east by 
Rock counties ; on the south by the State of Illinois ; and 
on the west by Iowa county — embracing townships one, 
two, three and four, in ranges six, seven, eight and nine ? 
east. It is about twenty-four and a half miles long, from 
north to south, and twenty-four miles wide, with an area of 
five hundred and eighty-eight square miles. Green county 
was established from the east part of Iowa, in 1836, and 
organized as a separate county in 1S3S. The population 
was then four hundred and ninety-four ; in 1840 it was 
nine hundred and thirty-three ; and in 1842 it had increased 
to one thousand five hundred and ninety-four. It is now 
estimated at five thousand. 

The surface of the country is much broken by hills of mod- 
erate elevation, and gentle slopes, susceptible of cultivation 
to their summits. The timber usually consists of scattered 
trees, and the southern portion is mostly prairie. 

The " mineral country" extends nearly to the eastern 
part of this county, where the lead bearing rock crops out, 
and is succeeded, as we pass eastward, by the underlying 
sandstone, similar to that found along the Wisconsin. 
There are already several very valuable " discoveries" of 
lead in the county, and many flattering " prospects" of more. 
These mines are nearer Lake Michigan than any other in 
the mining country, and when the lead trade is diverted in 
that direction, as much as it must be at some future time, 
these mines will have the advantage of being nearest to 
market ; and as most of the soil is well adapted for agricul- 
tural purposes, this country may be regarded as destined to 
become one of the most important of the interior counties. 

In 1840, there were in Green county 274 horses, 1,459 
neat cattle, 608 sheep, 3,605 swine, 2 stores, 1 grist-mill 
and 3 saw-mills; and the produce of the preceding year 
was 11,953 bushels of wheat, 85 of barley, 20,245 of oats, 



IOWA COUNTY. 1S1 

7SS of buckwheat, 25,610 of Indian corn, 15,603 of po- 
tatoes, and 1,045 pounds of wool. 

Post-offices have been established at Exeter. Monroe, 
and Decatur. 

The county seat is at Mo>"Roi. y called New 

Mexico, near the southeast corner of township two, in 
range seven. It is represented as a very prettily situated 
and thriving village, and surrounded with a good farming 
country. Exeter is the name of the place I known 

as the " Sugar River Diggings " (township four, in range 
eight). A considerable quantity of lead is smelted at this 
place. Centreville, Lexington and Livingston, are towns 
only in name. 

Sugar River is the principal stream in this country. 
Rising in Dane, and running through the eastern | 
Green, it crosses a corner of Rock county, and passes into 
Illinois, where it unites with the Pekatonica. It has seve- 
ral branches, of which the one called the Little Sugar river, 
entering from the west, in township three, is the most con- 
siderable. 2s~o lead mines have been found east of Surer 

c 

river. The Pekatonica crosses the southwest comer 
township of Green county, and there receives a small tribu- 
tary, called Skinner's cr . 

There are no lakes in Green county. 

IOWA COUNTY, 
One of the largest and most important of the counties in 
the mineral district, is bounded on the north by the Wis- 
consin river, which separates it from Richland and Sauk ; 
on the east by Dane and Green counties ; on the south by 
Illinois ; and on the west by Grant county. It may be de- 
scribed as embracing all of ranges one. . 5, four and 
five, east of the fourth principal meridia; , lying een the 
Siate of Illinois and the Wisconsin river. lc 
was established by the Legislature of Michigan, to include 
all that part of Crawford county lying south of the Wiscon- 



182 TOWA COUNTY. 

sin river, and was reduced to its present dimensions in 1836. 
It is thirty miles wide from east to west, and has an average 
length of forty-six and a half miles, and an area of thirteen 
hundred and ninety-five square miles. 

Iowa county is soon to be divided by a line running east 
and west through the middle of township four, should the 
people decide by a vote, to be taken on the question, in 
favor of such division. The northern division is to be 
called Montgomery, and the southern La Fayette, thus 
dropping entirely the original name of the county. 

In 1830, Iowa county had a population of one thousand 
five hundred and eighty-nine ; and in 1836, of five thou- 
sand four hundred and thirty-four. In 1838, excluding 
Grant county, &c, the population was three thousand two 
hundred and eighteen ; in 1840, it had increased to three 
thousand nine hundred and seventy-eight ; and in 1842, to 
five thousand and twenty-nine. It is now estimated at almost 
ten thousand. 

The general surface is much broken by valleys, with in- 
termediate ridges, the whole having a slight inclination in a 
north and south direction from the great ridge, running east 
and west a few miles south of the Wisconsin. This broken 
character is owing to the loose, soft, easily decomposed 
limestone, which is readily carried away by the disintegrat- 
ing agents. North of the main ridge the limestone is suc- 
ceeded by the underlying sandstone, forming cliffs of a wild 
and picturesque appearance. This dividing ridge is a very 
prominent and important feature in the topography of the 
western counties. Unlike most of the dividing ridges, it is 
very high, commanding a fine view of the valleys descend- 
ing from it. The main road passes along the summit of the 
ridge, and it is supposed that, should a railroad ever be 
constructed to unite this country with Lake Michigan, it will 
be along this ridge. 

In 1840, the United States census shows that there were 
in this county 30 smelting furnaces, producing eight mil- 



IOWA COUNTY. 183 

lions nine hundred and nine thousand pounds of lead within 
the preceding year, giving employment to one hundred 
and twenty-eight men, and requiring an invested capital of 
one hundred and six thousand five hundred dollars. There 
were then in Iowa county 1,132 horses and mules, 4,567 
neat cattle, 583 sheep, 7,618 swine, 21 stores and groceries, 
1 distillery, 2 breweries, 1 printing office, 4 grist-mills and 
7 saw-mills. The products of 1S39 were as follows: 
12,945 bushels of wheat, 2,424 of barley, 147,782 of oats, 
145 of buckwheat, 76,885 of Indian corn, and 49,383 of 
potatoes, 4,152 tons of hay, 39S pounds of wool, and 35 
of wax. These statistics show the truth of the remark 
made on a preceding page, that the mining country is also a 
good farming country ; for it will be seen that while Iowa 
county produces the greatest amount of lead and copper, 
she at the same time produces the greatest quantity of oats ; 
and the other agricultural products do not indicate a barren 
and unproductive soil. But the disposition of those who 
reside here to dig for wealth under the soil, rather than on 
its surface, is so strong, that the capabilities of the soil are 
probably not yet fairly tested. 

There are fifteen post-offices established in this county, 
viz : at Belmont, Diamond Grove, Dodgeville} Elk Grove 
Gratiot's Grove, Helena, Mineral Point, Porter's Grove, 
(or Ridgeway), White Oak Springs, Willow Springs, 
Wala, Collonwood Hill, New Diggings, Pedlar's Creek, and 
Savannah. This list will show also the principal villages 
and settlements in the county. 

Belmont is situated between the two Platte Mounds 
near the north line of township three, in range one east, and 
is noted as being the place selected, in 1836, by Governor 
Dodge, for holding the first session of the Legislative As- 
sembly. It has not improved very rapidly since that period. 
The Platte Mounds are two conical elevations, about two 
hundred feet high, twelve miles southwest of Mineral 
Point. They are three miles apart, and there is a small 



184 IOWA COUNTY. 

mound lying between them. They are composed of sili- 
ceous limestone, like the other mounds in this region, and 
are visible, when the air is clear, about thirty miles. The 
Indian name is Eu-ne-she-te-no — the " two mountains." 

The view from the top of these mounds is very interest- 
ing, and is graphically described by Gen. Wm. R. Smith 
as follows : " An ocean of prairie surrounds the gazer, 
whose vision is not limited to less than thirty or forty miles- 
This great sea of verdure is interspersed with delightfully 
varying undulations, like the vast waves of the ocean, and 
every here and there sinking into the hollows, or cresting 
the swells, appear spots of wood, large groves, extensive 
ranges of timber, small groups of trees, as if planted by the 
hand of art, for ornamenting this naturally splendid scene. 
Over this extended view, in all directions, are scattered the 
incipient farms of the settlers, with their luxuriant crops of 
wheat and oats, whose yellow sheaves, already cut, form a 
beautiful contrast with the waving green of the Indian corn, 
and the smooth, dark lines of the potatoe crop. Through- 
out the prairie, the most gorgeous variety of flowers are 
seen rising above the thickly set grass, which in large and 
small patches has here and there been mowed for hay, all 
presenting a curiously chequered appearance of the table be- 
neath us. The mineral flower, the tall, bright purple and 
red feather, the sun-flower, the yellow bloom, the golden 
rod, the several small and beautiful flowers, interspersed 
with the grass, render the scene indescribably beautiful. To 
the north, the Wisconsin hills are seen bounding the view ; 
to the east, prairie and wood are only limited by the hori- 
zon, and the Blue Mounds, on the northeast, form a back 
ground and a land mark ; to the south, the view over the 
rolling country extends into the State of Illinois ; in the 
southwest, is seen the Sinsiniwa Mound ; the view to the 
west is only bounded by the Table Mound, and the hills 
west of the Mississippi, and distant about thirty miles ; while 
to the northwest the high hills through which the Father of 



IOWA COUNTY. 185 

Waters breaks his sweeping way, close the view. Below 
us, on the plain, is the little village of Belmont, with its 
bright, painted dwellings ; the brown lines in the broad 
green carpet indicate the roads and tracks over the prairie ; 
the grazing cattle are scattered over the wide surface look- 
ing like dogs, or sheep, in size ; while in the distance are 
seen waggons of emigrants, and ox teams hauling lead, 
merchandize and lumber ; the horseman and foot traveller 
are passing and re-passing ; pleasure and travelling carriages 
are whirling rapidly over the sward, as if the country had 
been improved for a century past, instead of having been 
only five years reclaimed from the savages. This picture is 
not exaggerated — it fails of the original beauty, in the at- 
tempt to describe that scene which is worth a journey of a 
thousand miles to contemplate in the calm sunset of a sum- 
mer day, as I have viewed it, from the top of the Platte 
Mounds." 

Beside the Platte Mounds, the Western Blue Mound falls 
within this county. 

Helena is situated on the Wisconsin river, near the 
mouth of Pipe creek, seven miles below Arena, fifteen 
miles from Dodgeville, and about the same from the Blue 
Mounds. The most important business done at this place 
is the manufacture of shot, by the " Wisconsin Shot Compa- 
ny" — the only place in Wisconsin where shot is manufac- 
tured. 

The view of the valley of the Wisconsin from the top of 
the shot tower at this place is described as very fine, ex- 
tending a great distance. The river is seen winding through 
the rich, flat valley, which is bordered on both sides by 
high hills, with here and there rocky cliffs, separated by 
well wooded coves or vales. Besides the operations at the 
shot tower, there is much other business done at Helena, in 
the shipment of pig lead, and the receipt of lumber from 
the Upper Wisconsin, to supply the surrounding country. 

A few miles below Helena, on the Wisconsin, is a place 
9* 



186 IOWA COUNTY. 

called the Fallen Rocks, where the river has undermined 
the strata, and a mass of sandstone about thirty feet high, 
and two hundred feet long, has fallen off from the body of 
the cliff. 

Arena is situated on the Wisconsin river, the northeast 
angle of the county, at the mouth of the Black Earth 
creek. 

Dodgeville is a thriving little village, six miles north of 
Mineral Point, named in honor of General Dodge, first Gov- 
ernor of Wisconsin. Several lead mines have been opened, 
and furnaces are in operation in the village ; and the mine- 
ral diggings in the neighborhood are numerous and valuable, 
and are among the first that were discovered and worked in 
the country. A company was incorporated in 1S36, to con- 
struct a railroad from the Mississippi to Belmont, with the 
privilege of extending it to Dodgeville ; but nothing has 
been done towards constructing the road. 

Mineral Point is so named because it is situated on a 
point of land between two small branches of the Pekatoni- 
ca, containing mineral, or lead ore. Besides lead — copper, 
zinc and iron are found here in great quantities. It is the 
seat of government for Iowa county, and is rapidly improv- 
ing in population and wealth, as is evinced by the number 
of new and permanent dwellings erected recently. The 
quantity of lead and copper sent from here is very conside- 
rable ; most of it finds its way to Galena, in Illinois, whence 
it is shipped down the Mississippi, and by way of the 
ocean to New York. Within the last few years, how- 
ever, much of it is sent by waggons to Lake Michigan, 
mostly at Milwaukee, and hence sent direct by way of the 
lakes to New York. The experiment has been tried of 
boating lead down the Pekaonica, and up Rock river to 
Beloit, whence it was sent to Southport ; and a company 
has been incorporated to improve the navigation of the 
Pekatonica, with a view of securing this trade on that 
route ; but nothing has yet been done towards accomplish- 



IOWA COUNTY. 



187 



ing this object. A company has also been incorporated to 
construct a railroad from Mineral Point to the Mississippi. 
The town was incorporated in 1844. 

The amount received at the land office at Mineral Point 
for the last few years is as follows. 

In 1840 . . . . . $9,398 73 

1842 ..... 7,743 28 

1843 ..... 10,692 27 

1844 ..... 33,634 18 

1845 ..... 55,547 07 

Several other towns have at different times been laid out 
in Iowa county. Among them are Albion, New Baltimore, 
Buchanan, Otterborne, Muskado, Savannah and Shutsburgh 
• — which have not grown to be towns of much size and im- 
portance. 

There are no lakes or marshes in Iowa county. 

The Pekatonica is the principal stream, rising a few 
miles west of Mineral Point, and running in a southeasterly 
direction through the southeast corner of Green county, 
passes into Illinois, where it makes a long bend to the 
south, and enters Rock river five and a half miles below 
the State Line. It is a sluggish stream, remarkable for the 
great number of short bends or crooks, running through a 
beautiful and romantic valley, bordered by high bluffs. 
The water is usually turbid, hence its name, which signi- 
fies " the muddy stream." It is navigable for small boats 
from its mouth to the " Forks," at the village of Wiota. 
The principal branch, or tributary of the Pekatonica, is 
called the East Branch, and rises along the ridge between 
Dodgeville and the Blue Mounds. It runs south, through 
the eastern part of the county. The other tributaries are 
Spafford's Creek, Wolf Creek, Big and Little Otter Creeks, 
and Bonner's Creek. .It was on the Pekatonica that one of 
the first battles was fought with the Indians during the 
Black Hawk war, June 17, 1832. 



18S GRANT COUNTY. 

Fever river rises near Belmont, in this county, and 
running south enters the Mississippi seven miles below 
Galena, the great depot of the lead trade of this region. 
The river was named after a Frenchman (La Fever) and 
not on account of the prevalence of fevers in its vicinity. 
The Indian name, Mecobea (Small Pox river) is equally 
unfortunate for the reputation of this stream for healthfull- 
ness. 

Mineral creek, and Pipe creek, are two small tributa- 
ries of the Wisconsin, in this county. They have an unusual 
number of small branches, a fact which seems to be com- 
mon in the sandstone district. 

GRANT COUNTY 

Occupies the southwest corner of Wisconsin, being 
bounded on the north by the Wisconsin river (or Crawford 
and Richland counties) ; on the east by Iowa county ; on 
the south by the Mississippi, which separates it from the 
Territory of Iowa. Its extreme length, from north to 
south, is forty-eight miles, and from east to west, thirty- 
seven miles ; its mean breadth, however, is only twenty- 
four miles, showing an area of eleven hundred and fifty-two 
square miles. It has a river coast along the Wisconsin and 
Mississippi of nearly one hundred miles. 

Grant county was set off from Iowa and organized as a 
separate county in 1836. In 1838, it had a population of 
two thousand seven hundred and sixty-three ; in 1840, of 
three thousand nine hundred and twenty-six ; and in 1842, 
of five thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven. It is now 
supposed to be about ten thousand. The county seat is at 
Lancaster. 

The topography of this county is quite simple ; it may 
be described as a series of ridges, with intervening valleys. 
The main ridge runs east and west, commencing at the 
mouth of the Wisconsin, ana" running east along the south 
part of township six, quite through the county ; from this 



GRANT COUNTY. 



189 



main ridge lateral branches extend south between the val- 
leys of the streams, and these again have smaller spurs ex- 
tending east and west. North of the main ridge, the system 
is not so uniform, and sandstone bluffs occur. The ridges 
are composed of limestone rock, full of fissures, usually 
running north and south, or east and west ; and these fis- 
sures are abundantly supplied with ores of lead and zinc, 
and occasionally copper. From the mines large fortunes 
have been realized by miners, smelters, merchants, and 
speculators — and large fortunes have also been sunk in these 
limestone fissures. 

These mines are usually known as " The Diggings," and 
are distinguished by some trivial name. Thus we hear of 
the 

Section. Township. .Range. 

17 4 4 west 

24 
25 
15 
8, 17 & 18 
. 13, 24 & 25 
and 18, 19 & 30 
12 
1 



Beetown Diggings 
Blue River Diggings 
Fair Play Diggings 
Grant Diggings 
New Grant Diggings 
Hardscrabble Diggings 



Township. 

4 

6 

1 

4 

4 

1 

1 

1 
31 &86 1 &2 
30 4 

10 2 

31&36 4 



1 
1 
4 
4 

1 

1 

1 
1&2 

4 

1 
4&5 



east 
west 



Kilbourn Diggings 
Menomonee Diggings 
Nip and Tuck Diggings 
Patch Diggings 
Rattlesnake Diggings 

This list embraces but a small proportion of the whole 
number of " Diggings" in the county ; indeed, the southern 
portion of this county may be considered as one great lead 
mine, and the number of openings, or " sucker holes," is so 
great that it is dangerous to travel through the country un- 
less with extreme caution, for fear of falling into them. 

Grant county is represented as being better supplied with 
timber than any other portions of the mineral country, and 
it has many fine prairies, abounding in springs of pure water. 
There is neither swamp, lake, nor stagnant pool of water of 



190 



GRANT COUNTY. 



any kind in the county. The soil in both timber and prairie 
land is very rich and fertile, yielding all the usual crops (as 
will be seen by the following statistics), and with compara- 
tively little labor to the farmer. Among the timber are 
found oak, walnut, hickory, lynn, or basswood, sugar maple, 
cherry, ash, iron-wood, quaken-aspen ; and grapes, wild 
plums, and crab apples, grow in some parts of the county, 
in abundance. On the river bottoms there are also found 
the soft maple, elm, and birch ; on the bluffs, the cedar and 
white pine. The woods abound in game, and the streams 
in fish. 

The census of 1840 shows that there were then J 7 fur- 
naces in this county, producing annually six millions twenty 
thousand three hundred and fifty pounds of lead, and giving 
employment to eighty-six men. There were 5,735 horses 
and mules, 4,197 neat cattle, 463 sheep, 8,645 swine, 32 
stores and groceries, 2 lumber yards, 1 brewery, 2 flouring 
mills, 3 grist-mills and 1 1 saw-mills. The products were 
10,796 bushels of wheat, 3,246 of barley, 65,400 of oats, 
13 of rye, 1,059 of buckwheat, 100,055 of Indian corn, and 
74,629 of potatoes; 3,912 tons of hay, 100 pounds of to- 
bacco, 1,355 pounds of maple sugar, 63,657 pounds of 
soap, and 9,742 pounds of tallow candles. 

Post-offices have been established at Cassville, English 
Prairie, Fair Play, Hazel Green ( Hardscrabble Diggings), 
Hurricane, Jamestown (Menomonee Diggings), Lancaster, 
Paris, Patch Grove, Plattville, Potosi, Sinsinawa, and 
Wingville. 

Cassville is situated on the Mississippi river, in section 
twenty-six, in township three north, and range five west. 
It was commenced as early as 1S35, but very little perma- 
nent improvement was made until within the past one or 
two years. The scenery about here is represented as very 
beautiful. 

Potosi is considered by many as the most important 
place on the Mississippi in the mineral country, and destined 



GRANT COUNTY. 191 

ere long to be the shipping point for much of the lead trade 
that finds its way down that river. It consists of the towns 
of Lafayette, Van Buren,and Dublin, united, and it is situ- 
ated at the mouth of Grant river, in a romantic and pictur- 
esque valley, with a stream of pure water running through 
it. This valley, sometimes called Snake Hollow, is three 
miles long, and varies from one hundred to three hundred 
yards in width. Improvements were commenced here in 
1836 ; and this is the point usually considered as the most 
proper for the termination of a railroad from Lake Michigan. 
This town is now incorporated ; and efforts are making to 
improve the channel which connects it with the Mississippi. 
A grant of one section of land was made by Congress, in 
1844, for this purpose. 

Sijsipee on section six, township one, range two west, is 
also spoken of as destined to become an important point 
for the shipment of lead. The town stands on the edge of 
the water, which is deep near shore, affording a convenient 
landing for the largest steamboats. 

Platteville is the largest of the interior towns, situated 
on section fifteen, in township three, range one west, in the 
immediate vicinity of some extensive mineral diggings. It 
is five miles west from Belmont, on a small branch of the 
Little Platte river. The village was incorporated in 1841. 
It has an academy, which was incorporated in 1839. 

Lancaster, the seat of justice, is also a flourishing town, 
situated on section three, in township four north, and range 
three west, being near the centre of the county. It has a 
court-house of brick, and there is here a newspaper, pub- 
lished weekly. 

Wingville is situated on the main ridge road, near the 
line between the counties of Grant and Iowa, forty miles 
from Prairie du Chien. The Blue River Diggings are at 
this point. Limestone is found, and also a stone suitable 
for building, and easily dressed. 

Some other towns in this county are perhaps deserving 



192 CRAWFORD COUNTY. 

of notice, and some are mere " paper towns," as Brooklyn, 
New Cincinnati, Gibraltar, Grant, Hudson, Osceola, Suth- 
erland and Van Buren (or Blue river) . 

The large prairie lying in range five west, is usually 
called Blake's Prairie ; and the long narrow one, extend- 
ing from Lancaster nearly to Potosi, is called Bois Prairie. 
English Prairie lies at the northeast corner of the coun- 
ty, extending into Iowa. 

Platte river (Moschoca, " always full," of the In- 
dians,) is the largest stream within the county, running 
principally in range two west, and entering the Mississippi 
two miles above Sinipee. It is said to be navigable for 
steamboats for six miles. Its tributaries are Little Platte, 
French creek, Huglan's creek, and Block House creek. 

Grant river is said to be navigable twelve miles above 
its mouth, at Potosi. It has numerous small branches, 
among which are Bois Creek, Pigeon creek, and Rattle- 
snake creek. 

Blue river is a stream about twenty miles in length, in 
the northeast part of the county, tributary to the Wiscon- 
sin. Near its sources are some valuable mines of lead and 
copper, known as the " Blue River Diggings." 

Sinsiniwa creek runs south, through township one, 
range one west, and is a tributary of Fever river, in Illi- 
nois. The Sinsiniwa Mound, from which this creek de- 
rives its name, is one of those isolated, conical elevations 
so remarkable in this country, situated near the State line, 
five miles from the Mississippi. The Menomonee creek 
runs between this mound and the river. 

CRAWFORD COUNTY, 

One of the oldest in the Territory, is now reduced to 
within the following boundaries : begin at the mouth of 
Buffalo river, on the Mississippi, thence up the main branch 
of Buffalo river to its source, thence along the dividing 
ridge between the waters of Chippewa and Black rivers 



CRAWFORD COUNTY. 193 

until it reaches the head waters of Black river, thence 
east to the boundary of Portage county, being the line be- 
tween ranges one and two east, thence south to Richland 
county • thence west and south by the boundaries of that 
county, to the Wisconsin river ; thence down the Wiscon- 
sin and up the Mississippi, to the place of beginning. But 
a very small portion of this county has been surveyed, and 
consequently but little can be known of the exact course of 
the streams, or position and the extent of the lakes. 

Crawford county was first established by the Legislature of 
Michigan, October 16, 1818, and then included all the 
country west of a line drawn north and south through the 
middle of Wisconsin portage. As now limited, its area is 
supposed to be about seven thousand square miles. The 
population, in 1S30, was six hundred and ninety-two ; in 
1S36, it was eight hundred and fifty-four; in 1838, it was 
one thousand two hundred and twenty ; in 1S40, it was 
one thousand'five hundred and two ; and in 1842 (omitting 
officers and soldiers at Fort Crawford) it was one thousand 
four hundred and forty-nine. It is now estimated at three 
thousand. 

In 1840, there were 366 horses, 808 'neat cattle, 666 
swine, 2 lumber yards, 1 grist-mill and five saw-mills. 
The crops raised were 2,0S2 bushels of wheat, 32 of barley, 
9,299 of oats, 497 of rye, 104 of buckwheat, 5,257 of In- 
dian corn, 7,522 of potatoes, 553 tons of hay, and twenty- 
seven thousand eight hundred dollars worth of skins and 
furs. 

The south part of Crawford county consists of a ridge 
running north and south, on which the waters of the Mis- 
sissippi and Upper Wisconsin take their rise. For a dis- 
tance of eighty or a hundred miles, this ridge is not broken 
by any valley. The bluffs along the Mississippi appear to 
be the termini of lateral spurs of this ridge, extending down 
between the smaller streams. Near the falls of Black riv- 



194 CRAWFORD COUNTY. 

er, are the Iron Mountains, (see page 83 of this work) and 
other high points. " The scenery from these high ridges/," 
says Mr. Bronson, u is the most picturesque imaginable: 
natural columns, pillars, towers, mounds, &c, are frequently 
seen, varying in height from twenty to one hundred feet; 
their summits oval, spiral, or inclined, and with more or less 
perpendicular sides. They show the lime, sand, and quartz 
formations with which the whole country abounds." Ex- 
cellent materials for mill-stones are found here. On the 
Kickapoo river, these naked knobs often assume shapes re- 
sembling, rudely, the figure of some animal, or ghost, and 
are held in great veneration by the Indians. 

This portion of the county it is supposed may prove val- 
uable as a mining district, many indications of the existence 
of veins of copper having been recently discovered. 

The northern portion of the county is more level, abound- 
ing in lakes and streams, more or less filled with wild rice. 

Prairie du Chien, the seat of justice of the county, and 
the only village of much size and importance in it, is situat- 
ed on the Mississippi, about four or five miles above the 
mouth of the Wisconsin, on a level plain or prairie, about 
six miles long and two miles wide. This prairie is bordered 
on one side by the Mississippi, and on the other by high 
rocky bluffs, with scattered trees. The name was given 
from an Indian, who formerly resided here, called "the 
Dog." It is one of the oldest of the French settlements, or 
trading posts ; but the first permanent settlement was com- 
menced in 1783. Fort Crawford is. located here, near the 
south part of the " new town" of St. Friole, as it is some- 
times called, to distinguish it from the more ancient or " old 
town," which lies a mile and a half above, and is separated 
from it by an arm of the Mississippi called the " Grand 
Maris de St. Friole." Below the fort, the " City of Prairie 
du Chien" has been laid out, but the city is much smaller 
than the town. Prairie du Chien is about five hundred and 
forty miles above St. Louis. 



CRAWFORD COUNTY. 195 

The principal rivers in Crawford county are 

Bad Axe, which heads about forty miles from Prairie du 
Chien, and runs into the Mississippi. This stream is ren- 
dered memorable by the fact that the last, and decisive bat- 
tle with Black Hawk and his band, took place at its mouth, 
on the 2d day of August, 1832. 

Ball river is another tributary of the Mississippi, a few 
miles below Black river, at a beautiful prairie called " Prai- 
rie du Crosse," which was once much frequented by the 
Indians for the purpose of playing at a favorite game with 
a ball — hence the name Ball river. The Indian name is 
Wazioju. 

Black river (Sappah of the Indians) is an important 
tributary of the Mississippi, entering between Ball and Chip- 
pewa rivers. It is about two hundred yards wide at the 
mouth, and maintains this width for fifty miles, to the "falls." 
At these falls, there is a descent of twenty-two feet in a dis- 
tance of about one hundred yards, affording water power 
at which about three millions of feet of lumber are annually 
made ; and being at the head of navigation, is supposed to 
be an important place. Improvements were begun here 
in 1840. 

Kickapoo river is a branch of the Wisconsin, which 
runs for some distance nearly parallel with the Mississippi, 
and enters the Wisconsin in range four west. About its 
sources forests of pine are found. 

Trempaleau river, a branch of the Mississippi that en- 
ters near Mount Trempaleau or the " Montagne qui treupe 
dans Peau" (Soaking Mountain) of the French. This re- 
markable bluff is about five hundred feet high, affording a 
beautiful and extensive view of the Mississippi and the 
surrounding country. A very fine engraving of this moun- 
tain and the tranquil scenery around it was made a few 
years since to accompany the "New York Mirror." 



196 CHIPPEWA COUNTY. 



CHIPPEWA COUNTY. 

This county was established in 1845, from the western 
and northern parts of Crawford, and is bounded as follows : 
begin on the Mississippi at the mouth of Buffalo river, thence 
up Buffalo river to its source, thence along the dividing 
ridge between the waters of Black and Chippewa rivers to 
the head of Black river, thence east to the line of Portage 
county, thence north to the State line of Michigan, thence 
westwardly to the Forks of the Montreal river, thence up 
the West Fork to the point nearest to the Lac Courtorielle, 
thence by the canoe route to Long Lake, thence down the 
Red Cedar river to the mouth of the Meadow Fork, thence 
to the Lower Forks of the Porcupine river, thence down 
that river and the Mississippi to the place of beginning. In 
superficial extent, this county is estimated at about nine 
thousand square miles. It embraces the basin of the Chip- 
pewa river, one of the largest tributaries of the Mississippi 
in Wisconsin. Its population is estimated at eight hundred. 

The Chippewa river (Ojibwa, of the Indians) runs en- 
tirely across the Territory, having its rise in the State of 
Michigan, near the sources of the Wisconsin, Montreal, &c, 
and running into the Mississippi near the foot of Lake Pe- 
pin. It is about five hundred yards wide at its mouth. 
There are six rapids on the Chippewa. The principal one 
called the " Falls," is about seventy-five miles above the 
mouth, and has a descent of twenty -four feet in the distance 
of half a mile. A very large amount of pine lumber is 
annually sent down this river. Towards the sources of this 
stream and its branches there are many fine lakes, some of 
which have received names and are known by them. The 
principal are Lac Courtorielle, Lac Chetac, Lac de Flam- 
beau, Tomahawk Lake, Red Cedar Lake, Rice Lake, &c, 
&c. The Red Cedar Fork is the main branch of this river, 
entering from the west about thirty-six miles above its 
mouth About sixty miles below Rice Lake, on this river, 



SAINT CROIX COUNTY. 197 

according to Schoolcraft, commences a series of rapids over 
horizontal layers of sandstone rocks, which extend, with 
short intervals, down the river twenty-four miles. The re- 
mainder of the distance (about fifty miles) to the junction, 
is characterized- by deep water, with a strong current ; and 
at the junction is commanding and elevated, affording a fine 
view of a noble expanse of waters The Eau Gallais is 
another branch of the Chippewa, entering from the west, 
eighteen miles above the mouth, on which mills have been 
built. 

Porcupine River enters Lake Pepin near the middle. 

SAINT CROIX COUNTY. 

This county was reduced very materially in size by set- 
ting off from it, in 1845, the county of La Pointe. It is 
bounded by the following line : — begin on Lake Pepin at 
the mouth of the Porcupine river, running up that river to 
the First Forks, thence to the mouth of the Meadow Fork 
of Red Cedar river, thence up that river to Long Lake, 
thence by the nearest canoe route to Lac Courtorielle, thence 
to Yellow lake, thence to the mouth of Muddy river, thence 
down the Mississippi to the place of beginning. Area about 
eleven thousand square miles. 

A law passed in 1S45 to organize this county distinct 
from Crawford, provided the people should by a vote de- 
cide in favor of the measure ; but no vote having been taken 
as required by law, the county remains attached to Craw- 
ford. The population of this region, in 1840, was eight hun- 
dred and nine ; and in 1842, it was estimated at twelve hun- 
dred — the settlements being so remote and so little known 
that it was found impracticable to make an exact enumera- 
tion. It is now, after the separation of La Pointe county, 
supposed to contain about fifteen hundred inhabitants. 

The principal settlements are at La Pointe, on Lake Su- 
perior, and on the St. Croix river. 

The census of 1840 shows that there were then 58 



198 SAINT CROIX COUNTY. 

horses, 434 neat cattle, 6 sheep, 1S7 swine, 7 stores and 
groceries, 3 saw-mills, and 9 cabinet makers in this county ; 
and the products of the preceding year were 74 bushels of 
wheat; 79 of barley, 258 of oats, 606 of corn, 8,014 of po- 
tatoes, 447 tons of hay, 17,997 pounds of maple sugar, 
4,282 barrels of fish, .1,500 gallons of fish oil, and four 
thousand three hundred dollars worth of skins and furs. 

Much of this county will remain as it is at present, an 
uninviting region, but there are portions of it, especially 
along the Mississippi, and its branches, that may be culti- 
vated to advantage ; and its forests of pine, and perhaps 
mines of copper, may in some degree compensate for its 
deficiencies otherwise. 

Many of the rivers, lakes, &c, in this portion of the Ter- 
ritory, have received different names by the persons who 
have visited or described them, and hence there is some 
confusion in relation to these names. Those that appear to 
be pretty well established are as follows : 

St. Croix river, an important tributary of the Missis- 
sippi, a few miles above Lake Pepin, and fifty miles below 
the Falls of St. Anthony. Its length is about two hundred 
miles. It originates in Upper St. Croix lake, a beautiful 
sheet of clear, deep water, twelve miles long from north to 
south, and from one to three miles broad, with a small 
island near the south end. From this lake there is a por- 
tage of two miles, over a dry pine ridge, to the head of the 
Bois Brule river of Lake Superior. The branches of the 
St. Croix connect, by short portages, with the Chippewa, 
the Ishkodewabo (or Rum), and the Mauvaise rivers. At 
the Falls of the St. Croix, greenstone rock is found. Mills 
have been erected here, and some other improvements com- 
menced. The quantity of pine lumber manufactured on 
the St. Croix is estimated at five millions of feet annually. 
Above the Falls the river is full of rapids and falls ; the 
descent from the portage at its source to the mouth being 
two hundred and twenty-seven feet, as ascertained by Mr 
Nicollet. 



SAINT CROIX COUNTY. 199 

The St. Croix is about one hundred yards wide, at its 
mouth, which is opposite an island in the Mississippi ; and 
on the right bank at the mouth, there is a perpendicular 
ledge of sandstone about ten feet high. A few hundred 
yards above the mouth commences the Lower St. Clair 
lake, which extends thirty-six miles, with a breadth of about 
three or four miles. 

Rum River (Ishkode-wabo, or Missisagaregon, of the 
Indians) is the most important tributary of the Mississippi 
river in Wisconsin, above St. Croix, entering fourteen miles 
above the Falls of St. Anthony, it is sixty yards wide at 
its mouth, and navigable for canoes about one hundred and 
fifty miles. It rises near the St. Louis river of Lake Supe- 
rior, and passes through Spirit lake, a sheet of water twelve 
miles long and four wide, containing several islands. The 
water is transparent, and like most of the Lakes in Wiscon- 
sin, abounds in fish. The Mille Lac forms the source of a 
considerable branch of Rum river, by which the navigation 
is connected, by a portage of one mile, with the Upper 
Mississippi. This lake, or rather group of lakes, is about 
twenty miles in diameter. 

Saint Francis river (Wicha-niva, of the Indians) en- 
ters a short distance above Rum river. It runs nearly pa- 
rallel with the Mississippi, and hence it has been called 
the Parallel river ; and as it has one of its sources in Leaf 
lake, it has also been called Leaf river. It is navigable for 
canoes about one hundred miles. It was named by Henne- 
pin, who saw it in 1680. 

The minor streams in this county tributary to the Mis- 
sissippi are Nokays, Pekushino, Pidewabie or Little Rock 
river, Peterah, Ottonway or Raccoon, Clear Water and 
Porcupine. Those tributary to the St. Croix are, Willow, 
Greenstone, Altauwa, Nemokago, Red Cedar Creek, Reed 
Creek, Snake river, Wigobimis, Kettle, Shell, and Yellow 
rivers. 

The lakes that have received names may be enumerated 



200 



LA POINTE COUNTY. 



as follows : Middle Lacs, Red Cedar Lake, Rum Lake, 
Green, Bear's, Pekagomag, Upper St. Croix, Lower St. 
Croix, Shell, Wigabimis, Yellow, Kino, Makwa, Long, 
Birch, and Pine Lakes. 

Post-offices have been established in this county at Lake 
St. Croix, Falls of St. Croix, and Kaposia. 

LA POINTE COUNTS. 

This is a new county, having been established in 1845 
from the north part of St. Croix, and embraces all the Ter- 
ritory north of a line extending from the Mississippi at the 
mouth of Muddy river, to Yellow Lake, thence to Lac 
Courtorielle and thence to the west branch of the Mon- 
treal river. La Pointe on Madeline Island in Lake Supe- 
rior is the county seat. The county extends to the source 
of the Mississippi, and north to the Lake of the Woods. 
The settlement at La Pointe is the oldest in the Territory, 
older even than Green Bay. The population is estimated 
at about fifteen hundred, and its area cannot be less than 
twenty-five thousand square miles. 

From the geological character of some portions of this 
county it is supposed that mines of copper and silver may 
yet be found similar to those now known to exist further 
East, within the " upper Peninsula" of Michigan. 

Post-offices have been established at La Pointe, and at 
Sandy Lake. Important trading posts have been established 
for many years in various parts of the county, at which furs 
are purchased of the Indian tribes. 

The dividing ridge between the waters of Lake Supe- 
rior and those of the Mississippi lies principally in this 
county, extending from the source of the Montreal in a di- 
rection nearly parallel with the lake coast, around to the 
" Height of Land" near the source of Pigeon river. It is 
supposed to have its greatest depression near the source of 
the St. Croix and Bois Brule rivers, where it is only three 
hundred and sixty feet above' Lake Superior. From this 



LA POINTE COUNTY. 201 

point it increases in height to eight hundred and four feet at 
the Montreal, and seven hundred and thirty eight feet at the 
Savannah portage. Beyond this latter point it is so high 
as to deserve the name of mountain, being estimated at 
from twelve to fifteen hundred foet above Lake Supe- 
rior. 

The principal rivers are the Upper Mississippi, Rainy 
Lake river, the St. Louis river, the Bois Brule (or Burnt 
Wood), the Mauvais, and the Montreal rivers. 

Rainy Lake river is about one hundred miles long, rapid 
but navigable, and about four hundred yards in width at its 
mouth. Through this stream the waters of Rainy Lake 
pass to the Lake of the Woods ; and from thence they 
flow to Hudson's Bay at the north. Its tributaries (in Wis- 
consin) are the Namakan, Vermillion, Little Fork, Big 
Fork, Black, and Baudett rivers. 

The Saint Louis river is the largest and most import- 
ant tributary of Lake Superior in this Territory. It enters 
at the western extremity of the lake, or of Fond du Lac 
bay ; is a very crooked stream, full of rapids and falls, but 
is much used by travellers in passing from Lake Superior 
to the Upper Mississippi. At the mouth it is about one 
hundred and fifty yards wide, and immediately above the 
mouth it expands into a long narrow lake. 

The Bois Brule (or Burnt Wood) river enters the lake 
twenty miles from Fond du Lac, and is about ninety-four 
miles long, and navigable for canoes about eighty miles. It 
has its source in a spring of very clear and cold water ; twen- 
ty yards across, and situated near the upper St. Croix lake. 

The Mauvaise (bad) river, of the French — the Mush- 
kee (swamp) river, of the Indians, is the next considerable 
tributary of Lake Superior east of the Bois Brule, entering 
about half-way between La Pointe and the mouth of the 
Montreal, at a place where the shore of the lake is sandy 
for several miles each way — an unusual thing on the coast 

of this lake. 

10 



202 LA POINTE COUNTY. 

The Montreal river does not appear, from the recent 
surveys, to be so large and important a stream as has been 
supposed. It heads some considerable distance west of the 
Lac VieuxDesert (Lake Katakittekon), is full of rapids and 
falls, especially towards its mouth, and is scarcely naviga- 
ble for canoes. About eighty yards from the mouth, or 
entrance into the Montreal bay, there is a rapid with a de- 
scent of some eighty or ninety feet. 

The numerous other streams in this county are but little 
known. The same may be said of the small lakes profuse- 
ly scattered over the county. 

Fond du Lac at the western extremity of Lake Superior, 
must not be confounded with the other place of the same 
name at the south end of Lake Winnebago. 



CATALOGUE OF BOOKS 

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GEOGRAPHICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIP- 
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THE HOME OF THE BADGERS, or a sketch of the early 
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School a\xb illiscdlattcous Books. 

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204 CATALOGUE OF BOOKS. 

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CATALOGUE OF BOOKS. 205 

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206 CATALOGUE OF BOOKS. 

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PHRENOLOGICAL GUIDE; designed for students of their 
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PROSPECTUS 

OF VOLUME IX. FOR 1847. 

OF THE 

American phrenological #oitrnaL 

O. S. FOWLER, Editor. 

To reform and perfect man — to develope, by culture, the original 
beauties and capabilities of his nature — is a work the most arduous 
and exalted that can possibly engage human intellect or effort. To 
do this effectually, however, his nature must be known ; and since 
Phrenology and Physiology embody his entire constitution, there 
is no way by which we can so easily become acquainted with our- 
selves, or for what occupation in life we are best qualified, as by the 
aid of these sciences. 

To these subjects and their various applications, will this Journal 
be devoted. It will present : — 

PHRENOLOGY. 

Each number will analyze one or more of the Phrenological or- 
gans, both singly and in their various combinations, illustrated by 
engravings, showing their location. Each number will also contain 
the Phrenological developments and character of some distinguished 
individual, accompanied by their likenesses. This department will 
give just that practical view of Phrenology which is required 
in order to fully understand its proper application. 

PHYSIOLOGY. 
To know and obey those laws of life and health, unfolded by 
these sciences, constitutes the main basis and superstructure of tal- 
ent, virtue, and happiness. This department will also be illustrated 
by engravings. 

ANIMAL MAGNETISM 

Will receive its due attention ; and our readers will receive through 
this medium all that is new, interesting, and important. 



208 CATALOGUE OF BOOKS. 



WOMAN. 

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ernment and education of children, &c, — will also be presented in 
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promote. Those, therefore, who are interested in the advancement 
of our race, and would ameliorate their condition, may do so perhaps 
more effectually by circulating this Journal, than by any other 
means ; for it will embody the principles of all reform. 

This work will be issued monthly, containing thirty-two or more 
pages, on good type and paper, at the extremely low 

PRICE $1 00 PER YEAR, IN ADVANCE. 

Subscriptions should, in all cases, be addressed post paid, to 

I. A. HOPKINS, 
146 U. S. Block, Milwaukee. 






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nmmm 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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